The Void
by TheKeroroDrawer
Summary: When the Hinatas vanish, leaving the air reeking of foul play, Keroro and his platoon must leap into a world of darkness to find them and bring them home. But when horrifying truths are revealed and terrors beyond imagination begin to take form, it's obvious that their chances of survival are being shaved down by the second...
1. Authors Warning

**_This story contains massive amounts of gore, suicidal thoughts, and insanity. Some sexual actions here and there, along with a few characters from the RPG horror games "Mad Father" and "Corpse Party" _**

**_Also contains spoilers for these two games, if you wish to play them, don't read this until you finish_**

**_I believe these two games take place in the same universe, along with this anime, Sgt Frog. so that's why I made them intertwine. Also, I made it so it explains some of the story, like behind the scenes of what really happened in these games. _**

**_Think carefully before you go one._**


	2. Prologue

The ticking of a clock mounted onto the wall by nail and thread echoed sharply into a certain someones dream, a dream of foreboding darkness and fear.

Some may call it a nightmare, but there was no real word to describe the pain of this dream. Mostly because the dream fled from the mind and memory at the slightest hint of light that seeped through an opening eyelid.

With nothing to recall on, the one who had once fallen victim to the terrors of darkness will walk away and through their daily lives without a single memory of the night before to ponder about.

So when this certain someone awoke in cold sweat his mind, foggy with sleep, couldn't figure out why his heart was pounding so hard it could have easily jumped out of his chest. So he simply dismissed it, like everyone else in existence.

But what no one knows is that these dreams are not evil...

Their signs...

Warnings...

Prophecies...

visions of what is to come...

but thanks to the empty static that these dreams leave behind... We are always unprepared...

Unprepared... For the foreboding darkness...


	3. The First of Terrors

The adorable squeak of tiny feet hitting the ground could be heard as something raced through the brightly lit hallways, repetivly cursing under heavy breathing and gasps for air.

Meanwhile, more squeaking could be heard in another room as something else seemed to be pacing back and forth, eyes narrowed and teeth bared at the air in front of him.

suddenly, the door to this room flew open, bashing against the wall from the force, making a scratch in the concrete wall.

The one that was pacing looked at the one who had opened the door, and made a beeline to him, the adorable squeaking now a violent stomping that shook all of the furniture in the room.

"E-Eeek!" the one who had just came in backed up with his hands out in front of him "w-wait Giroro! L-let me explain!"

"Fuck your explanations!" The one called Giroro snarled and grabbed the other by the neck with his tough battle fit hands, cutting off his air and making him gasp and choke "This is the fourth time this week you've forgotten about our invasion meetings!"

"Kukuku... The sixth" a voice from behind corrected the enraged Giroro.

Giroro looked back to see the one who had corrected him was leaning back in his chair, tinkering with a tiny object that had wires spilling out from a hole he had made with a screwdriver.

"Even more reason to kill him!" Giroro snarled

"please Giroro, put him down he can't breath"

everyone, including the guy who was currently being strangled, jumped and looked at the speaker, obviously everyone had forgotten that he had been in the room.

While the speaker cringed and looked down at the table he sat in front of, another spoke up "if sarge dies, then we're going to have to follow Kururus orders"

Giroro instantly froze and let go of him, letting him gasp for air and fall over

"Kuku" Kururu laughed again and kept on tinkering with the thing he held in his hands "are you really that afraid of me Giro-"

he was cut off by a sudden rumbling in the ground, it was soft, but it could still be felt.

the one who called the newcomer "sarge" jumped up "w-what is that?" he cried and looked at the ground.

Before anyone could provide an answer, the light started to dim, and the rumbling slowly grew more fierce. soon the entire room seemed to be bouncing up and down, making furniture go flying into the air.

"G-get under the table!" The one who was forgotten yelled as he dodged a flying chair.

But before anyone could so much as take a step towards the table, there was a loud _snap_ and the room went pitch black. a second after, there was a massive crash and glass flew everywhere. The light fixture that had once been on the ceiling was now on the table.

Right after that, the ceiling started to give away, large chunks of asphalt and ceiling tile began to hurtle down and smash against the floor, massive amounts of dust went up and into the air and stung everyone's eyes.

Soon the floor of the room above them began to give away to, sending even more rubble down upon them.

The earth itself seemed to be roaring at them, shaking so much that all of the rooms in their massive underground base were collapsing one by one. Earth from the world above began falling into the room these five were now trapped in, bringing even more destruction with it.


	4. Acending From The Rubble

The one that had been called "sarge" groaned and tried to move, the rumbling had stopped long after he had lost consciousness, he tried to raise his head to find something was holding it down, but it wasn't a peice of concrete. He reached up with a sore arm and touched it, it was warm and smooth...

"someone's... Laying on me?" He thought and opened an eye slowly and tried to sit up again, the warm bodies weight suddenly vanished and he could feel a hand push against his back and help him sit up.

"G-Guys... He's... Awake..." Someone coughed out.

"K-Keroro?" someone else said and gently shook him by the shoulder "Sargent?"

Keroro opened his other eye and looked around, he was under the table along with his four other comrades, who all looked scratched and beat up, but other then that, unharmed.

Keroro coughed and rubbed the back of his head "ngh... Wh... What... Happened?"

"There was an earthquake..." Giroro said "I think you got hit in the head because Dororo found you unconscious while things were still falling apart..."

"Eh? Dororo?" He looked at the one who was forgotten right before the earthquake. "Yes... Right as I moved you a bunch of ceiling fell right where you had been before, your lucky I got to you in time"

Keroro sluggishly nodded, his vison still a tiny bit hazy.

the one who had called Keroro sarge squealed and hugged giroros arm as the ground began rumbling again, but it only lasted for a second.

Giroro pushed him away "Relax Tamama, it's just an aftershock"

"kuku, wow Giroro, for a while I thought you were just a muscle head, but lookie here you know things"

Giroro turned onto the sadistic basterd and gave him a good whack on the back of the head "shut it!" He spat.

"Oohhh~ that hurt so good~ do it again Giroro Kuuuuuuun~" Kururu slurred and started laughing again.

Giroro was about to stuff a cherry bomb down Kururus throat when Dororo stepped in between them "I-I think we have something more important to think about..." He looked at the damage the earthquake had caused.

Keroro looked at the rubble and tried to stand, his legs were shaking violently, making it more dificult then it should have been to stumble out from under the table and veiw the damage more clearly.

Concrete chunks covered everything, most of the dust had settled but a good bunch still mingled with the air. Keroro looked up to see the ceiling was not as stable as he would have hoped, there was a massive hole in the center and other areas were cracked quite badly.

Through the big hole he could see up many levels, and a tiny dot of sunlight showed that the ground above had caved in along with their base.

Keroro squinted his eyes as that dot started to grow smaller and smaller.

"am... am I imagining things?" He thought as the dot vanished all together. He looked at his comrades to see them struggling out from under the table after him.

Keroro staggered as there was another rumble. But this time it was different, it felt like it was coming from above...

"IDIOT!" Someone yelled and crashed into him from the side, making him screech with surprise that was cut off by a loud _crash_ and a _shhhhh_ sound.

Keroro covered his eyes as a bunch of tiny hard things pelted him and whoever had tackled him.

After the noise faded away he looked up to see Giroro hovering over him "you moron!" he growled "use your head!"

Keroro looked past him and saw a massive mound of dirt resting right underneath the massive hole in the ceiling and right were he was standing just a few seconds prior to now.

"K-Keroro!" Dororo and Tamama veered around the dirt pile and rushed to his side "a-are you ok sarge?! You were almost buried alive!"

still a bit dazed, he nodded and let Giroro haul him to his feet "this is no time to be careless! We're not out into the clear yet!" He yelled like a drill Sargent and began to storm over to the door, where oddly enough, there was nothing blocking it.

upon opening it revealed what was left of a dark and musty hallway, shattered lights lay everywhere and it was completely impossible to walk in a strait line. They slowly trudged through the wreckage, avoiding sharp objects that threatened to slice open their feet and legs.

The portal they used to get to the outside world was destroyed, buried under masses of concrete and dry wall. The only way out was a risky climb up a staircase littered with glass and metal shards from support beams that failed to support.

Everyone was breathing heavily by the time they reached the top, Giroro, who was in front, forced open the door that led to the basement of a house, the basement was surprisingly stable, the floor and ceiling had not caved in but broken items and furniture littered the ground making the walk out as hard as ever.

"D-do you think the Hinatas are ok?" Tamama asked as they neared the latter that led upstairs.

"kukukuuu... After an earthquake with that kind of magnitude? Their house should be in pieces"

Keroro gulped as he began climbing up to the trapdoor that separated him from the new destruction that he would be facing.

"Fuyuki... please be ok..." He thought as he grabbed the handle of the trapdoor and pushed up.


	5. The Dragon And The Princess

Keroro stared at the scene in front of himself, his jaw hanging loose and his eyes wider then ever before. Giroro was pushing up against his rear "hey! Move it you idiot!" He yelled and kept on pushing.

"It's... Gone..."

"What?"

Giroro forcefully pushed Keroro out of the opening and climbed up after him. He froze at what he saw, his eyes even wider then Keroros.

Where there was once a whole two story building, there was now an empty lot and nothing more. The ground greatly disturbed and pipes sticking out everywhere, it was as if the entire house had just gotten up and walked away.

Keroro looked at everyone as they came up "w-wheres the house?" He chocked out "w-where's the Hinatas?"

Dororo looked around "K-Koyuki was in the house when I came in for the meeting..."

Tamama gulped "s-so was Momaka..."

"Where did it go?!" Giroro yelled "I-It couldn't have just flown away!"

"Kukuku... that appears to be the case..." Kururu frowned slightly, then started laughing as if someone had said something amusing.

"You think this is funny?!" Tamama looked at him with wide eyes.

"Pretty much! Kuku!"

"The Hinatas might be in danger! How do you find humor in that?!"

"the thought of them screaming in terror makes me giddy, brat!"

"enough!" Giroro walked in between them "we have other things to worry about!"

"yes, like finding the house" Dororo looked up at the sky, as if he thought it would fall down from the sky any second now.

"Yessss... Yesssssss... Find the house~"

everyone blinked and looked at Keroro "wh-what did you say?"

"Huh? I didn't say anything" Keroro looked at Giroro "was that you?"

"Me? No... Dororo?"

Dororo shook his head "I didn't say anything like that"

just as Dororo finished speaking, a sudden chill shot up everyone's spines, the air started to grow heavy. Not with himudity, but what felt like pure, indescribable dread.

Keroro shuddered and looked around "wh... What?"

"what Indeed..."

Dororo whipped around, his katana unsheathed, Giroro materialized a gun and held it out, ready to shoot anything that came near "who's there?" he comanded.

"you think blades and bullets can harm me? Ohhohohohooo..." a mocking voice, cold as ice, seemed to echo around them. A thick, black, hazy fog started to form in the sky, blocking out the sunlight slightly and casting a shade over the empty plot.

Keroro shrieked as something even colder then the voice itself placed a skimming touch onto his shoulder, Dororo and Giroro wiped around and pointed their weapons in the direction of Keroro.

Keroro sprang away from whatever touched him and turned around to see a black spot in the ground, about as long as five Keronians. everyone backed away from it as it looked like it was stirring.

"th-that thing is moving!" Tamama squeaked "That thing is d-defiantly moving!"

Everyone watched in horrific awe as a black mound started to rise out of the spot, radiating the startling scent of blood and ice as it formed two red eyes and a smile lined with white horse teeth.

"Wh-what... What is that?!" Keroro hid behind Dororo, using him as a shield.

"ehehehehe..." the voice came from the mound, it's smile turning into a creepy smirk "why, it seems your missing a little... Something..." it laughed mockingly.

"sh-shut up!" Giroro yelled "who are you!?"

"my, my, we have a hot head here" the mound cackled at a fuming Giroro "didn't your mother teach you not to be rude to guests?"

"Ku... what do you want?" Kururu looked at him without flinching away.

"Oh, I'm here to pass on a massage~"

"a... Message?" Dororo tilted his head slightly.

"A certain someone was bored... So... So... VERY bored... He wanted to play a game... You see he was a big fan of children's stories, he admired the dragon who kidnapped the princess, he was amused with the princes attempts to save her...

Dororo and Giroro exchanged a glance "go on..."

"Hehe... So he thought: 'I want to be the dragon, the one who melts swords and armor with his breath, the one who steals the princesses and toys with the princes as they struggle to win~ ah yes, that would be very, very fun~"

Keroro and Tamama look confused, but Kururu, Dororo, and Giroro understood the newcomers words.

"_where are they?!_" Giroro snarled and clenched his fist. The mound laughed and gestured to the spot he was currently coming out of "this is a portal to a realm unknown to many, your little... 'princesses'... Are there, along with the dragon..." he chuckled.

"the choice is yours, be the heroes and jump in, or stand back and let the dragon steal more and more princesses until a prince finally takes a stand!"

With a uproar of laughter, the mound disappeared back into the dark spot, leaving the platoon silent with shock.

"th-this has to be a trap" Keroro finally sputtered.

"But the Hinatas are in there!" Tamama pointed at the spot.

"w-we can't go in there!" Keroro squeaked "We don't know what's down there!"

"Natsumi is in there!" Giroro yelled.

"So is Koyuki!" Dororo kneeled down by the spot.

"kukukuuuu... come to think of it, today was Aki Hinatas day off"

"yea..." Giroro caught on quickly "I can't believe I'm saying this, but without her you won't get your allowance"

Keroro gasped "then we HAVE to go in there!" he turned and kicked Dororo in the rear, making him yelp and fall forward and into the dark spot, his screech cut off as he vanished into the darkness.

Keroro grabbed Giroro and jumped in, dragging the weapons specialist with him.

"AARRGHH! Kero-"

he was cut off as well as the black dot swallowed him whole.

"S-Sarge!" Tamama screamed and leaped after him. Kururu stared at the dot, then turned to leave. Then turned back to the dot.

"...Kukukuuuu... This is gonna hurt~" he giggled and fell in.

The moment he went under, the dot vanished along with the black clouds above, letting the sun shine once more.


	6. You Afraid Of The Dark?

Keroro opened his eyes slowly, his ears ringing and his head aching. He groaned and sat up, then grabbed his shoulders and shivered "a-ah... B-b-brrrrrrrrrr!" He cried "jeez! S-so cold!"

He looked around, it was pitch black... He couldn't see anything. Keroro held his hand up to his face, he knew it was there, but he saw nothing. Not even the faintest outline.

he placed his hand on the ground beneath himself "wood?" He thought, it felt old and creaky, splinters stuck out here and there making it painful to search it any longer.

Keroro stood up, the ringing began to annoy him so he patted his ears roughly "agh! Stupid..." He muttered and rubbed his forehead.

"S...sarge?"

Keroro froze and looked around "h-huh? Who's there?"

Slowly his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was in a long hallway that looked ancient, the walls were rotting and the floor had several holes in it. The air stank with an awful, putrid smell. Keroro kept on looking around "hello!?"

"Sarge!"

Keroro looked down the hallway, the voice was coming from the darkness...

suddenly a face burst through the darkness, moving so fast there was only a blur of white that stopped right in front of Keroro. He screamed and fell back, right into a hole in the floor. right as he started to fall, something grabbed him by the arms, catching him just in time so only his legs dangled down the hole.

Keroro grunted with effort as he struggled to get out, whatever was holding his arms began to pull him out, with a large push, Keroro kicked out at the edge of the hole, pushing himself out, and went flying foreword as whoever was helping him yanked with all the strength it possibly had.

Keroro crashed into his savior and lay there, panting and gasping for air. He looked down at whoever had saved him and gasped "T-Tamama!"

"S-Sarge!" Tamama replied, blushing madly for some reason.

Keroro got off the private "it's good to see your here! I thought you would chicken out!"

"A-anything for you Sargent! You know I would do anything for you!"

"Good private!" he patted his shoulder and helped him up "where's Giroro?"

"G-Giroro? I haven't seen him"

"Kururu?"

"nope... sorry..."

"Brilliant... Just brilliant..."

Keroro kept on looking around "ok! if their to lazy to find us, lets find them! and the Hinatas!" he pointed down the hallway "That way!" He started to take a step forward, but instead of touching wood, his foot went right through the hole Tamama had just pulled him out of.

Tamama gasped and Keroro screamed as he fell down the hole, plummeting about 7 feet before crashing into the floor below.

"S-Sarge!" Tamama looked down the hole.

"O-owwie..." Keroro cried.

"uuhhhnnnn..."

Keroro blinked and looked down "Oh! Giroro!"

Giroro lay underneath Keroro, face down on the floor, Keroro scrambled off him "hey Tamama! I found Giroro!"

"Really sarge? Wow how lucky!"

Giroro groaned and opened his eyes "ngh... What... What..."

"Hello Giroro! About time you showed up!" Keroro patted his head.

"argh... My... Back..." He coughed "agh..."

Tamama carefully jumped down "yay! Good work sarge!"

"ah, it was nothing" Keroro swallowed up Tamamas ass kissing whole.

Giroro sat up slowly "rah... idiot..." He got up slowly.

"Kuku... Oh how humorous..."

Everyone turned to see Kururu stepping out of the darkness, Dororo following him slowly "Keroro... So mean..." he whimpered, hugging his elbows.

"Ah! Kururu! And Dororo! Almost forgot about you!" Keroro playfully punched Dororo in the shoulder, making him stagger and fall "oh... Oops..."

"Where are we?" Giroro looked around "this place... it looks like a really old Keronian hospital..."

"It is" Dororo got up and looked around, suddenly snapping out of his trauma "look, the walls are covered with notices and newspaper clippings that mention the same Hospital... All of them date back to the Kaltic era (a Keronian time period before they had intergalactic travel) "this is ridiculously old!"

"why are we here? I thought that creepy thing said we were going to a realm unknown" Keroro said and looked around.

"I think we did..." Tamama was looking out the window "sarge... Look outside..."

Keroro blinked and went to stand next to Tamama. Outside was total blackness, it wasn't just night, there was no stars, no moon, not even a visible ground.

"kukukuuuuuu... That would explain why it's so dark in here"

"but why is there a hospital from over 200 years ago here?"

"and where is here?" Giroro tried to open the window "uuunnghhhhh! No good... Wont budge!"

"then shoot it Giroro!"

Giroro nodded and reached for his gun. He blinked and looked at his empty hand "my guns... all of my guns are gone! I dont even have any bombs!"

"All of my ninja equipment is gone as well!" Dororo cried "all I have left is my katana!"

"All my snacks are missing!" Tamama wined.

"Kukukuu... All of my inventions vanished... " Kururu looked around.

"I have nothing ether!" Keroro crossed his arms "man, this is the worst!"

Giroro looked into the darkness that their eyes had not yet adjusted to "where the hell are the Hinatas?"

"I cannot sense koyuki..." Dororo frowned "something's amiss..."

"of course something is amiss! This whole place is amiss! Just look how creepy amissy it is!" Tamama cried and waved his hands around.

"Calm down private!" Giroro barked "this is no place to be losing your head!"

"Lets just look around, perhaps we can find a door out of here" Dororo looked at the newspaper clippings on the wall, then froze up "wait... D...do you guys hear that?"

Everyone looked at him "hear wha-"

"Shh, listen" Giroro whispered.

as they all fell silent, something that sounded like crying echoed softly from the darkness. Dororo looked down the hallway "that could be one of our friends!" He whispered and started to walk towards it "w-wait! Dororo come back!" Giroro whispered urgently "we don't know what's-"

the faint crying suddenly turned to shrill scream, growing louder and louder by the second. Everyone flinched away from the awful sound.

"S-someone's in trouble!" Dororo gasped and charged into the black before anyone could stop him. Giroro cussed and ran after him. Keroro looked at Kururu and Tamama "uh... I'm totally going... what about you Tamama?" Tamama looked at him with wide eyes "uh... Sure... yea they really need us..." He sputtered. Kururu laughed and casually walked after the ninja and red demon. Keroro sighed and followed, Tamama right behind him.

Dororo was pushing his ear against an old door "it's coming from in here..." He said to Giroro "it sounds like someone's in pain" he said and started to pry open the door "Dororo wait!" Keroro cried. But Dororo was already looking beyond the now open door. He froze, then charged inside, the scream was cut off and was replaced with an even more shriller scream that held the hint of a males voice in it.

Everyone gasped and charged into the room, but no one saw a thing. The moment they all went in, something rammed into them, making them cry out and get thrown back against the wall. The door slammed shut, muffling the new continuos scream.

Keroro looked up and shrieked, a little Pekoponian girl was standing in front of them, but something was wrong, she was almost transparent, giving off a hazy blue glow that uneasily lighted the hallways. her expression was bleak, her eyelids drooping and a ragged wound could be seen on her chest that seemed to be dripping blood with the same texture and glow she had.

Tamama screamed when he saw her, Kururu and Giroro let out a yell that was slightly more manlier. The girl blinked slowly, and the blue glow she had suddenly turned red as fire and her tired face morphed into a look of anger.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?" She screamed, her voice booming so loudly it shook the halls. everyone screamed again and hugged one another, shaking violently. Only Kururu didn't seemed THAT frightened.

Tamama started crying into Keroros chest, and Keroro started crying with him. Upon seeing their tears the girl turned blue once more and sighed "your so stupid" she said slowly, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

Giroro grabbed a loose board and pointed it at her "s-stay back!" He yelled "d-dont come any closer!"

"Relax... I won't hurt you... I'm just calling you stupid" she said, she sat down in front of them, she looked no more then eight.

"Wh-what are you?!"

"I'm a ghost"

everyone froze and looked at her "what?"

"You heard me... I'm the ghost of a girl... Who was murdered in this hospital..."

Giroro got up slowly "th-this is a Keronian hospital... How did a Pekoponian girl get killed in here?"

"I didn't die in the real world, back when this place was real and stood tall and proud. I died recently"

"you mean... Here? As in..._Here,_ here?"

"yes... In the place of no light"

Keroro gulped and looked at her "wait... Dororo! Dororos still in there!" He got up to run to the door, but the girl turned red once more, making him fall back down.

the girl turned blue again "you can't go in there..."

"W-why?!"

"For so long... I was being tortured in that room, another spirit, was so angry about dying. He killed me in life and continued to torture me in death with the spiritual energy he had..." she looked down "your stupid... stupid friend... He walked in on it... He got in between us, all of that pain went strait to him. He's stuck in my place, the least I could do was protect you guys... I got you out before he noticed you and drag torture you to..."

"th-that means... Dororos suffering right now!" Giroro looked at the door and tried to run past the ghost girl. She blazed red and pushed him against the wall, Keroro and Tamama jumped back and screamed. Giroro looked up at her, her dead eyes blazing with anger "I refuse to let anyone else suffer" She growled and released him.

"we can't just do nothing!" Tamama whimpered.

"your friends gone, he won't last much longer. He'll die of pure pain soon and be a ghost, just like me"

"is there ANYTHING we can do?!" Keroro cried "I can't take listening to his screams any more!"

She was about to start yelling at him, but she stopped. The red was replaced with blue again.

" maybe..." She scratched her transparent chin, her own fingers going through herself.

"if you can appease that spirit... He would calm down enough to let your friend go..."

"All right! Lets appease him!... Uh... How do we do that?"

"You have to find something that the spirit treasured in real life and present it to him"

"ok! Wheres his stuff?"

"On his body"

"uh... Right... Ok... Eh... ew... But where is it?"

the girl pointed at the door.

"Oh... Of course... It's the one place you won't let us go" Giroro snorted.

"I'm sorry... there's no other way... But I can't let you go it, so much as open that door and we all will suffer forever..."

Keroro rubbed his head "dammit... What can we do? Dororos going to die!"


	7. What Frightening Experiences

"Perhaps you can find something over here, but this part of the building isn't all that big"

The ghost girl was still talking, but Keroro stopped listening. The only way he could hear her was to uncover his ears, and that ment listening to Dororos crys of pain as background noise, and that he couldnt bare.

Only Kururu was really listening to the girl, his brow furrowed and his hand raised to his mouth as if to laugh, but he was silent and still as a statue.

Giroro stared through the ghost girl and at the door, his eyes angry and his muscles tensed up as if he was expecting it to open and reveal what everyone expected...

Another ghost...

"Kuku... Do you know the spirit personally?" Kururus voice broke the platoons silence.

"N...no... At least I can't remember... I remember dying but I can't remember who did it... I was in there with him for what felt like years but I was in to much pain to look at him."

Kururu frowned "you sure?"

"Y-yes..." she twiddled her ghosty fingers.

"What's your name?" Tamama suddenly asked.

She looked down "Amaria"

"You look so young..."

she nodded "Yes... I'm nine years old... Or I was... What year is it?"

"2014"

"then... Then I'm 58 years old..." She looked down the hallway.

Giroro stared at her "you came her that long ago?"

"yes I-"

she was cut off from Keroro jumping up "I can't take it anymore!" He yelled, holding his head in his hands "his screams... Their so loud! ITS DRIVING ME CRAZY!" He cried and ran away and down the halls.

Amaria gasped "no! Wait!"

Suddenly Keroros scream could be heard from the darkness, and he came running back, his face pale and tears steaming down his face. He collapsed in front of Amaria, crying and panting.

"Th-th-there's a th-thing!" He yelled and pointed down the hall "a-a-a... A-a..."

Giroro went to his side "What is it? What's down there?"

But Keroro had already passed out, still breathing hard even in a deep sleep.

"Tamama... Stay with Keroro... Kururu, come with me"

Kururu got up from where he sat and began to follow Giroro down the hallway that Keroro had just run out from.

Giroro looked at the walls "what's that sound?"

Kururu lifted his head up and frowned "kuku... You mean that weird buzzing?"

"Yea..."

"ku..." Kururu kept on walking, then stopped dead "kuuuuuu..." He said slowly, his voice getting lower and lower as he finished the extended laugh. Giroro blinked and went to stand beside the scientist "Kururu wha..." Girorloa stopped when he saw what had made Kururu freeze.

"Oh...oh my god..."

"kuku... I think we just found what Keroro was freaking out about..."

slumping against the wall was the corpse of a Keronian. its flesh was so rotten that its skin color was unable to be identified. the meat around its face was so decayed that the front of its scull could be seen.

its lower jaw was torn away and no where to be seen. It's ribcage seemed to have exploded outwards, explaining the dried blood, organs, and rib fragments that were stuck to the walls around it.

The deafening buzzing that was heard was millions of flys feasting away at the decaying mass, and millions of maggots littered the pool of blood and body.

Giroro covered his mouth and looked away "what... What could have done this?" He chocked out "g-god... It smells... Horrible..."

"Kukukuuu... It looks like something exploded in his chest... what a way to die..."

"does... Does that mean its real?"

"yea... This is real..."

Kururu turned around and started to walk away, Giroro gagged at the body one more time before following. When they got back to Tamama, Giroro pointed into the darkness "do NOT go down there!" He yelled.

Tamama flinched and nodded "o-ok..."

"Sorry... I knew that was down there..." Amaria looked down at Keroro, who was slowly awakening "I should have told you..."

"yea... You really should have!" Giroro snapped "is Dororo going to end up like that?!"

Amaria shook her head "all ghosts look like their bodies at the moment of death..."

"I ment a decayed and maggot infested lump of bloody meat!"

She flinched "oh... y-yes..."

"Oh fucking ale!" Giroro punched the wall.

"It's not my fault you were brought here! I'm trying to protect you... That's all I can do..."

"IF YOU REALLY CARED YOU WOULD SAVE DORORO!"

Amaria shrank away slightly, hurt clouding her ghostly eyes.

Kururu pushed roughly on Giroros shoulder, making him stagger. He spun around "wh-what the hell Kururu!"

"kukukuuu..." Kururu laughed and went to stand beside Amaria "I need you to open the door"

Amaria turned from hurt to angry, the red bursting out like a fire "I can't"

"I can appease him"

Tamama blinked "you can?"

"Kuku... Quite easily in fact"

"what? Then do it!" A now awake Keroro commanded groggily.

"I need the door to open"

"do you have something he treasured?"

"Kuku... Yes"

"wh-what? Where and when did you get it?" Giroro asked.

"That doesn't matter... I need to open the door..."

Amaria slowly turned blue again "your the smartest in this group... I can see it in your eyes"

"eh? But with his glasses on you can't see his eyes" Tamama pointed out.

"Ghosts see through everything..." Amaria whispered "I can see your confidence... But I can't find the source..."

"The source doesn't matter" Kururu pointed at the door "can't you hear it? The screams are getting quieter, he's growing weak... Open the damn door so I can save him"

Amaria sighed and nodded "Fine... If you fail I won't be able to save you again..."

Amaria looked at the door, and it suddenly burst open, the screams instantly became easy to hear.

Inside was a hazy black figure, crouched over something weakly withering around on the ground. the figure shifted and two red eyes glared at Kururu, who stood not flinching at the frightening sight. Everyone else however, was hiding behind Kururu, including Amaria.

The screams stopped and the withering thing stopped moving. The hazy thing suddenly charged at Kururu, an eerie high pitched roaring coming from it. Keroro, Tamama, Giroro, and Amaria screamed, but Kururu stayed still and silent until it was only a foot away, then he opened his mouth and said something so softly that it couldn't be heard. But the moment he said it, the hazy thing stopped dead in its tracks and made a weird whining noise.

"That's right kuku you heard me" he took a step forward and met his red gaze directly "you've heard it before, when you were alive, before you went blind with rage... Remember, remember what you did"

the thing squealed and backed away, the red eyes dimming.

"that's right, you should feel ashamed... Kukuku..." Kururu kept on advancing, forcing the thing back even farther "look at what you have become!"

The thing started screaming, shaking and flailing about. Amaria looked at it "what... What did you say to it?"

Kururu looked up at her "kukukuu... I said your name"

in that instant, the thing began to glow blue, the black started to fade away, revealing a Pekoponian boy, far smaller then Amaria. What looked like an iron pole was stuck through his chest.

Amaria covered her mouth and looked at him "j...jake?" She gasped, her eyes wide.

"Kuku... Apparently ghosts forget some things after they die... you both forgot each other... He killed you becuase he didn't reconise you..." Kururu looked at her "all you both needed was a good look..."

Amaria rushed over to Jake and looked at him hard "Jakey..." She whispered... The ghost boy looked up at her "big... sis?"

Keroro blinked "their... Siblings?"

"Kukuku... Yes... she seemed protective iof us... Like a big sister... It's in her nature to do so, even if she forgot she had a younger sibling"

Giroro ran past Kururu and the reunited ghosts. He stopped by the thing the previosly enraged ghost boy had been watching over

"D-Dororo!"


	8. A Frozen Hell

Keroro rushed over and looked down at his old childhood friend. He was shaking violently, eyes squeezed shut and his breath coming and going in long, raspy gasps.

Giroro crouched down next to him "Dororo... Can you hear me?"

Dororo opened one eye a tiny bit, his icey blue pupal was glazed over and seemed to be quivering.

"it's ok... It's over..." Giroro rubbed his shoulder gently. Dororo didn't make any noise, he just lay there.

Keroro looked over at the ghosts, they were passing their hands through each others shoulders, looking happy dispite their damaged appearances. Amaria looked at Kururu "th...thank you..." She whispered "now that me and my brother are together... the forever agony of our deaths wont seem so bad..." she and her brother faded away.

Tamama sniffed "th...that was... Beautiful..." He cried.

Keroro looked back at Dororo "come on Dororo, get up" he grabbed his sweaty hand and began pulling him up to his feet. Dororo let out a feeble screech and fell down, clearly still in pain.

"don't do that! He's in no condition to move!" Giroro snapped.

"a-ah... Sorry..."

Giroro held Dororos hand "relax, we'll wait until your feeling better..."

Kururu walked over to them "ku... We can't"

"what? Why?"

Becuase something in here killed a boy and that other dude we found, we can't risk staying in one place... Unless you rather get murdered, I suggest you start carrying him..."

"h-he has a point Giroro..." Tamama whimpered I don't feel safe in herrAHHHH!"

Keroro jumped "ah! Wh-what is it?!"

Tamama pointed at the corner with a shaking finger. Two skeletons wearing clothing identical to Jake and Amarias, One had a iron pipe stuck in its rib cage. Keroro squeaked and took a step back "a...ah... That's..."

"kukuu kukuu... This is where they died... Jake was killed here... And Amaria stayed with him... That was when his spirit grew mad"

Giroro closed his eyes "how awful..." He turned his attention back to Dororo and began trying to drape the ninja over his shoulders. Dororo cried out occasionally, but otherwise stayed quiet.

When Dororo was safely secured on Giroros back, with his chin resting on top of Giroros head, Giroro looked at another door, different from the one they came in from "lets go that way..." he said "gain some more ground..."

"Kuku... Fine with me" he opened the door and started to lead the way into unknown territory.

Giroro grunted and followed him "Tamama, stay behind me and make sure Dororo dosn't slip off!"

"h-hey! I don't wanna be in the back! The person in the back always dies first! Don't you watch any horror movies?!" Keroro squeaked.

"Coward..." Giroro growled and kept on walking.

Dororo whimpered as Giroro cut a corner to close, making his shoulder hit the wall.

Giroro looked back at him "shit, sorry" he said and went a bit slower. Kururu stopped and looked at the wall, his brow furrowed and he raised his hand to his mouth to laugh, but he stayed silent until Giroro and the others caught up.

"kukuku... This is defiantly not good..."

Giroro blinked and looked at the wall, he almost dropped Dororo from pure shock, but Tamama caught the ninja as he began to slide away from the gunsman.

"O-oh my god..."

nailed to the wall was a piece of paper, yellowed with age, and something written in what looked like dried blood was in it.

"_I DON'T WANT TO DIE_"

the writing was sloppy, part of the "E" was extended. As if whatever was leaving the blood had slipped down.

Keroro gulped "eeehhhh... Yup... Not good..."

"Ku... I wasn't talking about the note dipshit"

Giroro looked at the hacker, then at the wall "then... What..."

"Look down"

Giroro looked down to see an air duct built into the base of the wall, blood surrounded it.

"Kukuku... Whoever was writing that got sucked into there right as they were about to finish..."

Giroro, Tamama and Keroro took a step back "O...oh god..."

Kururu crouched down and opened the duct. Blood began seeping out, along with the retching stench of rotting flesh.

Kururu looked inside, then stood up "Keronian... It looks like a child..."

"god... Not another kid..." Tamama whispered.

"th...theres more..." Keroro looked at the walls again "all of these notes... They're all written in blood..."

"Except this one... It's written in pencil..." Tamama pointed at one that was written neatly in small words.

"oh, lets have a lookie"

Kururu tore it off the wall and looked at it. Keroro looked over his shoulder and started reading it aloud.

" _I don't like it here... I just want to go home... My sisters dead... It's my fault, I couldn't save her... The spirits were so angry that they killed her. But she did nothing! she was Innocent! but they dragged her away and murdered her. She came back to me later... Her corpse started walking! it followed me around everywhere! She said when I die... I will feel the exact thing I felt at the moment of death for all eternity. Not just pain, but the emotion i felt as well... no matter how i try i wont stop feeling it. Heavens cut off, she said everyones stuck in here, it's hell. A cold, fireless hell. I'm going to die in hell..." _

"mnggh..."

Everyone jumped and looked at Dororo, his eyes were open now and he had managed to lift his head slightly. He looked confused and tired "we... We're in... Hell?" He coughed.

Giroro sat him down and took the note. He shoved it into Dororos hands "read that"

Tamama whimpered "what the note said... About... Dying..."

"Yea... come to think of it... Amaria said something about that... Eternal pain..." Giroro looked down.

"God no..." Keroro held his head.

"Look what you've done! You've brought us to hell!" Giroro yelled at Keroro.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"you should be!"

"Stop yelling at sarge!" Tamama cried.

Dororo suddenly let out a strained cry and threw the note away, it fluttered to the ground.

Giroro went to his side "relax Dororo... It's ok..."

"I...I was g-going to die! I WAS GOING TO DIE!" He screamed, "I was going to feel that pain forever!"

"Dororo, please, calm down..."

"uh... G...guys...?" Tamama whispered.

"I...I don't want to die!" Dororo cried "Dororo, you need to Relax!" Giroro snapped.

"Guys?"

"Kuku... He's gone loony" Kururu laughed.

"GUYS!" Tamama screamed.

Giroro looked over "WHAT?!"

He was pointing down the hall that they had just came from with a shaking finger. Standing about 30 feet away was a figure. Giroro stood up and backed away "K-Kururu... Isn't that..."

"kuku... the corpse we found earlier? Yup..." He started backing away as well.

"Wh-what?!" Keroro and Tamama yelled.

"The note talked about corpses walking! there are zombies in here to!" Giroro yelled "RUN!"

Everyone made a mad dash into the darkness as the corpse let out a strange noise and began following them. they soon met a dead end in the hallways "fuck!" Keroro looked back "it's coming!"

"Quick! Into the closet!" Giroro opened a closet door and pushed everyone inside and just closed the door as the corpse rounded the corner.

Everyone covered their mouths and closed there eyes. The corpse was knocking into the walls of the hallway, letting out moans of what sounded like pain. Keroro suddenly winced.

Tamama looked over to see a red dot on the sarges shoulder, and just a second later, felt something very tiny hit his own face. He lifted a trembling finger and rubbed it away to look at it. A red smear was left on his finger. He tapped giroros shoulder and showed him and Kururu his now red finger.

Keroro looked at it as well, then everyone at the same time looked up.

Right above them, caught in a net, was the corpse of a grown Pekoponian. his skin torn completely off and dripping blood. Tamama squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered loudly, Giroro tried to shush him but the corpse had already heard.

With a loud bang, the door flew open, and the corpse roared right in their faces, spraying blood onto them. They screamed and hugged one another.

suddenly there was a loud _snap_ and the corpse fell over, and stayed still.

Keroro looked up and gasped "Dororo!"


	9. Remember Me!

Dororo stood over the corpse, covered in blood and live maggots. Keroro jumped out over the corpse "y-you saved us...Ew..." He went to give him a hug but stopped himself when he realized that he was swarming with maggots "ah- ew ew!" He began brushing them off of the ninja "that's disgusting!"

Kururu looked at the corpse "kuku... You found his lower jaw..."

Giroro blinked and saw that the corpse now had its jaw back in place "is that why it stopped moving?"

"The thing must have been mad that he lost it, so he automatically blamed us..." Tamama said.

"Good work Dororo" Keroro raised his hand up for a high five.

But Dororo didn't move, he just stood there, his legs shaking violently. His eyes were staring at Keroro blankly.

"D...Dororo?"

"you... Forgot about me..."

Everyone froze, they HAD forgotten about the ninja, they had left him behind when he was still to weak to walk, his legs were still shaking, it must be talking so much of his energy to even stand.

"Even... The corpse didn't notice me..." He looked down "but... I could have died... I could have been killed..."

"Oh Dororo... God we're so sorr-"

"that note..." He cut off Giroro "it said whoever dies in here feels the same thing they felt for all of eternity... The same emotion... The same sight..."

He grabbed his katana and pulled out the blade. He stared at his own reflection on the metal.

"so..." He suddenly looked at Keroro and the others, his eyes wild with some sort of emotion that no one could read "If... If I'm the last thing you see... You wont forget me?"

"wh-what?" Keroro blinked.

"what the hell are you talking about?!" Giroro yelled.

"if... If I kill you... I won't ever be forgotten!" He suddenly screamed and raised his sword over his head. everyone screamed and jumped away "c-cut it out Dororo! This isn't funny!" Giroro yelled.

"Ha... Hahaha... AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Dororo laughed "I DON'T WANNA BE FORGOTTEN... I REFUSE TO BE FORGOTTEN! YOU'LL REMEMBER ME! I WILL MAKE YOU REMEMBER MEEEEEE!" He screamed and started walking towards them, constantly laughing like a maniac.

everyone screamed and ran past him, away from the dead end and deeper into the hospital, Dororos laughter following them all the way.

"TRUE FRIENDS DON'T FORGET EACH OTHER! I'LL MAKE US TRUE FRIENDS! WE'LL BE SO HAPPY TOGETHER!" his voice echoed through the dark halls.

After running quite a ways, Keroro gasped and looked around "no... Giroro? Tamama? Kururu?" he looked around "wh...when did we get separated? I-I didn't even notice!"

"Kerrrroooorrrrrooooooooooooooooooo~"

Keroro flinched and looked behind him just in time to see something blue crash into him. He hit the ground with a thud and looked up to see Dororo hovering over him, one hand at his superiors throat and another holding the sword.

"Don't worry sergeant..." Dororo whispered to a gasping and squirming Keroro "This way, you won't forget me... We're going to be best friends... Forevvvveeeerrrrrrr..." He extended the word "forever" and gently placed the swords tip in between Keroros eyes.

Then he reared the blade back, Keroro gulped "please... Dororo... Don't..." He wheezed.

But Dororo only started laughing and suddenly started to bring the blade down.

but he barely even moved when someone shouted from down the hall "DORORO!"

Dororo stopped and looked up, Giroro was standing at the end of the hall, a door behind him "come on Dororo" he jabbed himself in the chest with his thumb "Do me first!"

"what?" Keroro and Dororo said together.

"Im the better friend, aren't I?" He growled "I deserve to be the first to be able to forever remember you!" Giroro held out his arms "kill me! Face to face! Lets go!"

"G- Giroro?! Are you crazy?!" Keroro gasped as Dororo slowly got off him "Thats right... You are my better friend..." he whispered and started walking over to them. But just as Dororo got close, Giroro grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him through the door he stood behind and into a different closet.

hid cry of shock was cut off as the door was slammed shut behind him.

Kururu and Tamama then came out of nowhere "did it work?"

"yea, he's trapped" Giroro said "now help me hold this door shut!"

"WAIT a second!" Keroro yelled, getting up "you mean to tell me I was BAIT?!"

"Kukukuuu... Yup"

"I almost died!"

"But you didn't"

"besides, he's a ninja! He's going to get out!"

"I think he lost all sense, if he could focus, then he could get out"

"He's also got a sword!"

"Not anymore"

keroro blinked, then realized that Giroro had Dororos Katana in his hands "wah... How?"

"I got it off him as I pushed him in"

"kukukuu..." Kururu laughed he can't get out, we're safe"

Dororo started pounding on the door from inside the closet "LET ME OUT GIRORO!"

"kukuuuuu~ ohhh he's mad~"

"sorry Dororo, but I can't" Giroro called back.

"I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING!"

"No, we didn't!"

Tamama snorted "what is this? A cheesy break up scene between a couple?"

"Could be... I think anything can happen in here" Keroro growled "like being bait for a psychopath!"

"Sorry sarge, but Giroro said it was the only way to survive this..." Tamama mumbled.

Keroro sighed and looked at the closet door "this place made even Dororo crack like an egg... Damn... Is there no end to it?"


	10. Lunch

"Nnnnghhhh... Ah... Where...?"

Dororo blinked and sat up, he felt like he had just taken a long nap, he rubbed his tired eyes and looked around. it was so dark, and... Cramped...

He was inside a wooden rectangle, and he barely had room to even stand up. He leaned on the wall and looked forward, there were hinges and blots on the wall in front of him "is that a door?" He thought and tried to push it open.

It creaked open ever so slightly, but it instantly slammed shut, and voices could be heard on the other side.

"you idiot! you need to keep on holding it! If you don't hes gonna get out!"

"I _was _holding it you jerk!"

"then why was it opening?!"

Dororo blinked and pounded on the door "G-Giroro? Is that you?"

The voices fell silent, making Dororo worry.

"K-Keroro? Tamama? Kururu?" he cried "let me out!"

just as he finished yelling, something wet hit his head. He stiffened then reached up to feel it, then pulled his hand down to see some sort of green slime coating his fingers. He shuddered and looked up.

The closet he was in was skinny, but seemed to be very, very tall. The ceiling very high above his head. And attached to the ceiling was a slimy green Nyororo. But something was very wrong with it. Unlike all other Nyororo, this one had many fangs... Bloodstained fangs.

Something was in its mouth behind all of those fangs, and it spit it out. Something white shot down and clonked the terrified ninja in the head. Dororo cried and fell against the wall. The thing landed at his feet, and Dororo yelled when he saw it was a baby Keronians scull.

The Nyororo stared at Dororo with red eyes and hissed, then began to glide down the wall towards him.

Dororo screamed and started pounding on the door again "l-let me out! Please! Somebody! Anybody!"

Dororo reached for his katana, thinking that he was going to have to fend off the bloodthirsty Nyororo himself, but to his horror, the blade part of his weapon was gone "no! god no! SOMEBODY LET ME OUT!" He kept pounding on the door, screaming his lungs out and silently begging for someone to open the door.

Suddenly the door swung open and he began to fall, but not before the Nyororo clamped its tentacle lips around Dororos head, muffling his scream. thankfully, the fangs were farther back then Dororo had thought, but he was being swallowed quickly and the fangs were slowly getting closer to his face.

Dororo thrashed around, but nothing was fazing the killer Nyororo as it continued to stuff him into his mouth. suddenly, the Nyororo screeched and spat him out, along with a massive amount of green slime.

Dororo hit the ground with a dull thud, totally covered in slime. He whimpered and looked up, he could see something red wrestling with the Nyororo, but the slime was going into his eyes, making it hard to see. He let his head hit the ground with a thump and feinted.


	11. You Think I'm Crazy?

"Just die already!"

when the screams of their possibly insane comrade had persuaded Giroro and Keroro to open the door, a Nyororo with Dororo in its mouth had tumbled out. Right after, Giroro had grabbed Dororos sword and stabbed it in the stomach, making it vomit out the ninja who was thankfully unharmed besides being covered in Nyororo puke.

Giroro kept stabbing it, the Nyororo thrashed around, wailing as blood began squirting out the wounds Giroro left behind with the sharp katana.

Soon it flopped onto the ground, weezing and whining, but Giroro was not merciful in the slightest and drove the blade deep into the Nyororos brain.

Keroro and Tamama took a step back, their eyes wide and fearful. Giroro ripped the blade out and threw it onto the ground. It clattered against the wood floor and came to a rest at Kururus feet. The scientist picked it up and began walking towards the unconscious ninja.

Dororo whimpered and slowly came to. Kururu wiped the gunk out of his eyes "ku... good, your alive..."

"G-Giroro... You... killed it..." Keroro gasped

"of course I killed it!" Giroro yelled.

"b-but... Its a Nyororo... It was only going to suck the water out of him..."

"Oh yea? I think it was going to do more then that!" Giroro grabbed it's mouth and held it up, showing the many, many razor sharp teeth.

Tamama winced "o-oh..."

"kukuu... It looks like this Nyororo grew a taste for blood and flesh instead of water" Kururu frowned "that closet must have been its home..."

Dororo blinked groggily, then suddenly sat up quickly, tears rolling down his face "wh-why did you guys lock me in there?! I almost got eaten!"

Keroro winced "you tried to kill us!"

"Why would I kill you?! your my only friends! And some fucking friends you are!"

"ku... It appears he dosent remember..." Kururu looked up at Keroro.

Tamama gulped "what... what if he's faking?"

"I feinted after I put that zombies jaw back into place! How could I try and kill you if I was out cold?!" Dororo stood up, using Kururu as a support.

"look, for us you just started going on about some 'becoming best friends forever' and 'never being forgotten' crap, then you started waving your sword at us and laughing!" Keroro pointed at the closet "we trapped you in there so you wouldn't kill us!"

"No... No I blacked out! I..." He trailed off, holding his head "I'm sure of it... I... I couldn't have... Done that..."

Giroro took the katana away from Kururu "I'm holding onto this until I know for sure your not crazy anymore..." He frowned.

"No... I-I didn't do anything! _I'm not insane!" _Dororo practically screamed.

"kukuu, your acting crazy right now" Kururu pointed out "just keep screaming like a lunatic and your _bound _to get everyone's trust back" he said sarcastically.

"sh-shut up geek!" Dororo spat at the hacker.

Kururu went still, then simply let Dororo fall down. Dororo cried as he hit the floor.

"Oops" Kururu said flatly and turned away. the shadow that usually hung inbetween his eyes darker and larger then usual.

Keroro frowned and looked down at Dororo, he was now sobbing, still covered in green slime.

Dororo covered his eyes and leaned against the wall, trying his best to stop himself from crying but failing miserably.

Giroro glared at Kururu, But he didn't say anything. He just went over to Dororo and began to pull him to his feet "come one... We can't stay in one place for to long..." He gave Tamama the katana "hold onto that..." He said and looked at Keroro and Kururu "well? Lets go... Lead the was four eyes" He growled at Kururu.

Kururu returned the growl and began walking down a completely new hall. Kururu rarely got mad, but Dororo called him a geek... A _geek... _he knew the ninja was stressing out, and didn't mean it... But Kururu didn't care. he hated that insult...

Giroro had began to brush the goop off of Dororo as the walked, even though he had his suspicions about his friends mental state, the corporal was still mad at Kururu for being so mean to him.

Soon they got to another room, this one had two doors, both doors facing each other from opposite walls.

Kururu laughed "kuku... It looks like we're gonna have to split up"

That's when Giroro let Dororo stand on his own and spoke up "the hells your problem?"

"Mm?" Kururu looked at him.

"Split up?! Why the hell would we split up?! That's suicide!"

"Ku... like you know any better"

"I know about survival!" Giroro yelled

"oh yea? Prove it. Go through that door on the right! Survive for five minutes, then come back!"

"easy! But only if you do the same!" Giroro pointed to the door on the left.

"Are you kidding?!" Tamama cried "your turning this into a compitition?!"

"Kukukuuu! fine!"

The two suddenly started striding for the doors, and quick as lightning, they vanished through them, leaving the doors swinging open.

"no! Giroro! Kururu! Don-" Keroro stopped mid sentence, his eyes wide and mouth hanging ajar. He started teetering side to side slowly.

Suddenly, Dororo grabbed Tamama by the shoulders, making the private scream and raise the katana he was holding above his head in a reflex.

"F-follow Giroro! Now!"

Tamama blinked "h-h-huh?"

"Go! Now! After him!"

"What?! And leave sarge with _you?!"_

"look at him Tamama! _look at him!" _

Tamama looked at the sarge, he was now staring at the floor, his face blank and a tiny bit of drool dribbling down his chin.

"he looks brain dead! I don't believe I did those things you claim I did, but if it did happen... Then you would know what someone looks like when they crack under the pressure!"

Dororo stared at him so hard that Tamama could count the veins in his eyes "Keroro never listens to me, so I don't expect you to do the same... But for once in your life! TRUST ME!" he yelled and ran away, and into the door that Kururu had gone through.

Tamama looked after him "he...he's really crazy... He thinks my sarge has cracked! That's stupid! The sarge is the strongest person I know!"

"Hey... Tamama..."

Tamama looked at the sarge "can you believe that? Dororo actually thinks your crazy like him! What a joke... Sarge?"

Keroro was staring at Tamama with blank eyes, he was still drooling, but there was a large smile on his face "Its just the two of us... everyone ran away..." Keroro began reaching for the katana Tamama held. Tamama backed away slightly "sarge... what are you doing?"

"I've been... So curious... About... You..." He said slowly "how you would look... In red..."

Tamama blinked "huh?"

Keroro tried to grab the weapon again, and Tamama suddenly understood what he ment.

"EEKKK!" Tamama pulled the knife away from Keroros reach and ran through the door Giroro had gone through. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving the frightened private alone with whatever lay ahead.


	12. Stop Treating Me Like An Animal!

Tamama stared at the halls in shock "wha... that... that cant be..." he sputtered.

The halls of the hospital seemed to have changed, but not just by size and color...

by _age _as well.

It looked like he was now in a compleatly different building, and it was defiantly not a hospital anymore. There was a notice on the wall, so to figure out where he was, Tamama went over to it.

"_notice all faculty and staff, feild day, along with the student government election, will take place on May 12, remind all students that its required to wear our school colors of black and green that day!"__  
_

"I-I'm in a school..." Tamama blinked "but this writings in Japanese, not Keronian... So, a Pekoponian school? Yea... What other species uses Japanese?"

Tamama gulped and tightened his grip on the handle of Dororo's katana as he started on his trek deeper into the dark school "G-Giroro?" He called out, hoping for the corporal to answer.

Nothing but silence met his words... But as Tamama went farther in, he could hear the sound of a voice. It wasn't Giroro though. more high pitched and girly like.

"Eheheheheeee..." Said the voice. Tamama bit his lip "I really don't like it when little girls laugh, it's always bad... Especially in here!" Tamama thought and looked around a corner.

Just a few feet away from Tamama was a female Keronian, she looked alive but one of her eyes was gone, a ragged, blood soaked hole was in it's place. But the blood seemed to have stopped running and was dried up, meaning it had somewhat healed. But it had to be painful.

Tamama shrank away from the gruesome sight. she was also holding a large chain and walking away from Tamama, dragging something behind her. Tamama strained to see it, but quickly ducked away, hand over mouth.

"I couldn't have just seen that... Theres no way...no..." He started shaking and looked back again to make sure.

Giroro was at the other end of the chain. laying down and letting himself be dragged across the dirty, bloodstained floor.

The chain had been attached to a spiked collar that was around his neck. it was as if the girl thought of him as a pet.

a very tiny bit of blood was trickling down from his mouth. He looked like he had gotten the crap kicked out of him, the girl was the one making the laughing that Tamama had heard earlier. it was obvious that she had been the one who had beat him up.

Tamama started sneaking over to Giroro. He started to cut the collar off with the katana but he was constantly moving due to the girl dragging him so it took longer then it should have been to get it off.

as soon as the leather band had been cut through, the chain stopped moving.

Tamama blinked and looked back at the girl, she had stopped and was looking back at him with her remaining eye, once laughing but now silent.

Tamama gripped the katanas handle tightly "th...this is my friend... I'm... Taking him with me..." He managed to say.

The girl looked at him, then the pupal in her remaining eye suddenly shrank, and she lunged forward. Grabbing Tamama by the neck and making him scream from fear. The Katana getting knocked out of his hands.

"Mine... Mine... Mine!" The girl snarled, blood oozing out of her eye and landing on Tamamas face "MINE MINE MINE MINE!"

Tamama couldn't breath, he struggled to get the katana back but it was out of his reach. His face started to turn blue from the lack of air.

Suddenly, something hit the katana and flung it back to Tamama. But when Tamama grabbed it, he accidentally grabbed the blade part. Tamama cried out when it cut him, but he didn't let go, he thrusted the handle part into the girls empty eye socket. She screamed, then fell over, the katana going with her.

Tamama gasped and held his throat, panting and weezing. He looked over at Giroro to see his hand laying where the katana had landed after it had been knocked out of the privates hand. He had been the one to push it forward.

Giroro looked at him, his eyes lidded with exhaustion. then he looked at the girl.

Tamama looked at her as well. She was laying on her stomach and wasn't moving. Tamama rolled her over and winced. When her face had hit the floor, the katana had still been in her eye.

when the other end that wasn't embedded in her empty eye socket had hit the floor, it was pushed farther into her head, and into the brain. Since she had been alive unlike everything else in this place, she was now dead for the moment.

Giroro carefully eased the katana out of her head and looked at Tamamas bleeding hand "its not a deep cut, but put pressure on it anyway, just in case"

Tamama nodded "Giroro... what happened?"

Giroro frowned "the moment I go down the dumb hall this bitch jumps out at me... She knocked me out with just a punch, and I wake up to see you getting strangled" he looked at Tamama "wheres Keroro?"

"S-Sarge?" Tamama started to tear up a bit.

"Tamama? Tamama what happened!?"

"sarge is crazy!" Tamama cried and held his face in his hands.

"wh-what?"

"Sarge... Hes insane! After Dororo ran off after Kururu he started acting weird! He was asking how good I would look in red and tried to grab the sword! I got away but i think hes still around!"

Giroro cussed and looked down "damn it... Not Keroro to..."

"I-I don't know what to do Giroro!"

"take it easy... Lets find Dororo and Kururu, then lets figure out what to do"

Tamama sniffed and nodded. Then started to get up.

Giroro got up to and started walking back to the door they came from, the bloody katana still in his hand. Tamama quickly followed, staying close to the corporal. Soon they got back to the hallway they had come out of, but something was wrong... Very wrong.

"Tamama?" Giroro gulped "where's the door?""


	13. You Scared? Me Too

**Yo waddup peeps? this story is fun to write but imma work on another story... And nope, not "Animals In Captivity" **

**it's gonna be a new story... so no more "The Void" for a while. But don't be sad, it's gonna come back soon! But sorry anyways! **

The wall that once had the door inserted into it was now blank. A single bloodstained note was pinned onto the wall where the door once was.

_"haha" _was all it said.

"The doors gone... We can't go back!" Tamama whimpered "we're stuck in this stupid school!"

"Hey, relax... We can find a way back to the hospital, we just gotta keep searching"

Tamama looked at him "I'm so scared Giroro... I-I want to get out of here!"

"Well whining about it isn't going to help!" Giroro grabbed him by the shoulder "be a solider and march through it!"

Tamama winced, then started crying.

"oh come on now!" Giroro growled "man up!"

Tamama sat against the wall and kept crying "I-I-I want to s-see Momaka and P-Paul again! I-I want to be with sarge! I-I... I WANNA GO HOOOOME!" He wailed.

Giroro sighed and sat down next to him "ok... Ok... I'm sorry I yelled at you..." He placed a hand on the privates knee "but if we sit here and do nothing, we wont be able to go anywhere... that includs leaving this zombie land"

Tamama looked at him, still crying "I'm... I'm so scared..." He sniffed.

Giroro closed his eyes and awkwardly hugged the private, making him jump "don't tell anyone... But... I am to..."

Tamama looked at him in surprise, then returned the hug, making it even more awkward.

"Hey... lets just take a break... get some rest... We're gonna need it..." Giroro said. Tamama nodded and closed his as well. The two sat there in the dark hallways, ghosts passed by as their eyes were closed. Each one pitying them greatly, for they could see the horror yet to come.


	14. Hungry Halls

Giroro grunted, opening his eyes slowly. He and Tamama had dozed off in their awkward, yet comforting embrace. But nothing had changed, the school was still a school, the door was still gone, but for some reason the air stank even worse then before.

Giroro gagged at the smell and looked at Tamama, he was awake, but barely. His head nodding up and down and his eyes lidded.

Giroro looked at his hands "military or not he's just a kid... In a place like this, a young mind like his can break quickly..." He thought "If Dororo and Keroro have already fallen victim to insanity... Then it's only a matter of time before Tamama lose it to..."

Giroro bit his lip "will I have the heart to leave him behind if he becomes a threat? What if I have to kill him? No... No he's just a kid! but what if I lose it to? Insanity may cripple my combat skills but he still won't have a change of surviving on his own!"

"G-Giroro?"

Giroro looked at Tamama, he was obviously awake now, but a hint of sleep still lingered in his eyes "Yeah?"

"We're gonna die in here... Aren't we?"

Giroro frowned "don't say things like that... There's gotta be an exit somewhere"

"if there was an exit, there wouldn't be as many bodies..." Tamama sighed "I dont know why... But I feel so calm about dying..."

Giroro blinked "huh? What do you mean?"

"I'm... I'm not scared anymore... Giroro, I feel kinda enlightened, ya know?" Tamama looked up at the ceiling "this place... I... I hear it..."

Giroro scooted away slightly "no... No he's lost it! Wait, maybe there's a chance I can snap him out of it!" He thought and shook Tamama "hey! Hey! Tamama are you still with me?!"

Tamama closed his eyes, a tiny smile on his face "it's got only one voice... That voice... Oh what a voice..."

"_Tamama!" _

Tamama opened his eyes a tiny bit and looked at Giroro, his smile getting slightly bigger.

Giroro jumped up and began backing away as Tamama slowly stood up and leaned against the wall "Giroro... cant you hear it?"

"Tamama! you need to snap out of it!"

"The sound of a hungry stomach..." Tamama giggled and pointed at the walls "it's so hungry Giroro, it just wants... To... Eat... You... Up..."

before Giroro could even react, the hallway started shaking. Giroro tried to stay upright, but he fell over as the shaking grew more violent "wh-what the- what's going on!?"

Tamama kept on giggling, falling over as well and landing beside Giroro. Giroro tried to get away from him, but the shaking grew so intense that he couldn't crawl away, much less get up and run.

it sounded like the halls were roaring, pieces of ceiling and floor were falling around the two Keronians, trapping them together.

"F-f-fuck!" Giroro stammered as he was bounced around, the ceiling crumbling above him and Tamama.

Giroro looked up, then at Tamama "that ceilings not gonna last long... If that falls it may kill Tamama!" He thought and looked at the private. Dispite the chaos around him, he was still giggling softly, the smile still on his face.

"But he's insane... even if I could save him, he might try to kill me!"

a chunk of ceiling fell, almost hitting Giroro. He rolled away from the debre, getting closer to the private.

"But what if he goes back to normal like Dororo did? Maybe it's temporary! But what if its not?"

More ceiling fell next to the corporal, he shielded himself from the bits of concrete that was flung at him from impact.

"Fuck... What do I do?! if I could somehow get away to safety and save myself, he's gonna die! if I could somehow get us both out, I might have to kill him myself!" _  
_

Giroro gasped and dodged another falling peice of ceiling.

"There's not enough time to do any of those things! I can't even stand while the grounds shaking so much!"

He looked up above Tamama to see the ceiling giving away above him, Tamama was still giggling, unaware of a possible death.

"o-oh fuck it!"

With all the strength he could muster, Giroro lunged at Tamama and landed right on top of him, holding the tadpole underneath him and hugging him tightly as the ceiling gave away compleatly and began to fall.


	15. Dislocations Suck

Tamama woke up in extreme pain. The very first thing he did was scream. The air was dusty, making it hard to breath and see. His right shoulder was radiating pain, sure he was sore all over, but nothing could compare to the agony he was feeling in that shoulder.

He was laying on his back, staring at a hole in the ceiling. Dizzy and in agony, Tamama weakly looked over to see a massive chunk of concrete resting on his shoulder. His arm and hand felt tingly, as if the blood flow from his shoulder down had been cut off.

Tamama tried to move, but just ended up screaming again, the pain was so horrible that it made him cry. He lifted his good arm and tried to push the concrete off, not only did it not work at all, it hurt even more. Tamama fell limp, breathing hard and going into shock.

Tamamas vision grew blurry, slowly slipping into unconsciousness again as a figure appeared in his line of vision. Tamama blinked slowly "G...G...G-Giroro?" He chocked out, the corners of his vision going white.

The figure lingered there for a moment before reaching down and grabbing the piece of concrete. It lifted it with ease and tossed it away, Tamama whimpered with relief as some of the pressure vanished, yet it still hurt.

Tamama gasped and wailed as the figure reached down and grabbed him by his feet and began to drag him out of the concrete that surrounded him. His shoulder scraping against the ground and sending constant pain through the privates body.

He kept screaming, but his vision grew more and more fuzzy. Soon he lost it all together and lost consciousness again.

He woke up sitting against the wall, his shoulder still hurting and the air a little less dusty.

"G-Giroro?" He weakly called out "Giroro... G-Giroro... H...help... Help... Me... Giroro..." He started crying, he had no energy to move, he was tired and hurt beyond belief.

Tamama looked at his shoulder, now that the concrete was gone he could see it was jutting out weirdly. Tamama coughed and raised his voice slightly "help... Me..."

He heard someone coughing beside him. He looked over to see a red keronian sitting a little ways away from him.

"G...Giro... ro..."

Giroro looked over at him, he was bleeding and bruised in a few areas, but it was nothing serious.

"T-Tamama... Thank god your ok..."

"he pulled me out..." Tamama thought. He whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut "ah... Giroro... i-it hurts..."

"Eh?" Giroro looked at his shoulder "oh shit... Fuck I didn't even notice!"

he scooted over and examined it. Tamama looked away, crying harder "I-I can't feel my arm!" He cried, clearly starting to panic "I-it hurts so much! help me!"

"calm down, it's dislocated alright? I can fix it, I've had experience with dislocations on the battlefield, you just need to relax"

Tamama cried out as Giroro placed a hand on it "Ah! Ow! Ow! G-get off!" Tamama screeched and pushed him away, clonking his shoulder into the wall and making him scream again.

"Tamama! Calm down!" He grabbed Tamamas good shoulder and kept him steady "look, I need to touch it it put it back into place, I also need to lean on it. It's going to hurt but I swear it will feel much better back in place then sticking out like this"

Tamama grabbed Giroros hand with his good arm "I-I'm scared!"

"it's going to be ok... Trust me" Giroro held the privates hand tightly "ok... I'm going to do it now..."

Tamama winced and whimpered as Giroro placed a hand on his shoulder "just squeeze my hand alright?"

Tamama nodded and practically crushed the hand he was holding. Giroro grunted from the discomfort but leaned his weight onto Tamamas shoulder.

Tamama started panting from the pain. Giroro looked at him "alright, on the count of three, I'm going to push... One... Two... _Three!" _

when he said three, Giroro pushed hard on Tamamas shoulder. Tamama cried out as there was a disturbing _pop_ as his shoulder slid back into place. The private gasped and went limp with relief as the pain completely vanished and the blood began rushing back into his arm.

Giroro let go of the privates hand "ok... Better?"

"God yes... I don't even feel it!"

"good..." Giroro looked at his shoulder "however... The muscle thats meant to hold that thing in place is now damaged... we need to wrap it so it doesn't pop back out... But there's nothing to wrap it with"

Tamama looked at Giroro, who was looking around the damaged halls. Giroro looked back at Tamama "I can't believe you did all of that with a dislocated shoulder..."

Tamama blinked "eh? Did what?"

"Dont be so modest about it, it must have been horrible, using both your hands to pull me out. I think you should deserve some credit"

Tamama froze "I-I didn't pull you out..."

Giroro blinked, then snorted "Yea right, Tamama I saw you. You were digging around in the wreckage of that earthquake, and when you came to me you lifted some concrete that had been pinning me down and dragged me out"

"No... No Giroro I didn't do any of that. I was pinned down to! but..." He gulped

"but... What?"

"It was you that got me out..." Tamama whispered

"ha... ok your making things up"

"no I'm serious! Giroro you saved me!"

"Did you _see_ me save you?"

"Did you see me save _you?__" _

Giroro blinked "it was a bit blurry"

"same for me"

"wait... If you didn't save me... And I didn't save you..." Giroro started

"W-Who saved us then?" Tamama finished.

they looked around, they were the only ones in the hallway.

"D-did a zombie save us?"

"Maybe..." Giroro frowned "ehh... Come to think of it, it reeks so bad in here"

"Ah... your right..." Tamama covered his nose and coughed "It smells like... Its coming from us..."

Giroro nodded and looked down "h-holy..."

Tamama blinked and looked down to see they both were covered in bloody handprints. Tamama whimpered and looked back up at Giroro "god... Giroro I'm getting freaked out..."

"Look, if something saved us... It had to have been good... Amaria was good, so could others"

"Yea... your right... But still it's disturbing"

"speaking of disturbing things... Do you... Remember what happened before the earthquake started?" Giroro looked at Tamama.

"eh? Yea I... Wait... Actually no... It's blurry... No I can't... did I get hit on the head or something?"

Giroro frowned "you started acting weird... Like Dororo when he was under... But not murderous..."

Tamama blinked, then snorted "Giroro, are you playing with me?"

"Look, I'm starting to think Dororo was right... Maybe he can't remember what he did. Maybe it's temporary, you seem fine to me now... That means Keroros gotta be ok too..."

"Y-You gotta be kidding me... Giroro I dont even remember..."

"Look, I believe you... And this may happen to me as well... So Tamama..." Giroro grew serious "if I start acting weirdly... In any way at all, if I try to hurt you, you run away. you kept running until you collapse from exhaustion. I don't want you to die in here... your far to young" Giroro sighed "and enternal pain... Not very comforting... Just... Try to survive, try to get back to the others"

Tamama nodded and looked down "i-I'll try..."

"Good... Now try to sleep, we'll keep moving in an our or so..."


	16. Blood And Maggots

Tamama trudged after Giroro, while they had been resting after the painful ordeal he had just gone through and he had fallen asleep. the moment he had woken up, Giroro had made him stand and start walking.

Tamamas arm hang limply at his side, Giroro had given him clear instructions not to move it at all until he could find some form of cloth to wrap around it and keep his shoulder secure.

Tamama cringed at every sound that could be heard. Thinking something dead was going to come out of nowhere and attack them.

Giroro stopped and looked back the way they came "I don't recognize anything... We must be somewhere new..."

Tamama gulped "wh-what do you think... we're going to find now?"

Giroro frowned "hopefully less bodies... And maybe someone who's alive and sain"

"And... Food..." Tamama mumbled "I'm hungry..."

"your hungry because all you do is eat" Giroro kept walking "if you ate just 3 meals a day with a tiny snack here and there like everyone else, your body wouldn't be used to constant food and be able to last a few hours without growling for more"

He looked back when Tamama lowered his head shamefully "but I get what your saying... theres nothing in here that's editable, If you count out all the rotting meat... But I don't suppose your fond of cannibalism"

"eh... N-no... Besides, we would get real sick from eating rotten meat... right?"

"yea... Just drop the entire idea. Dying of sickness is pretty painful, and like that note from before said, you feel it forever"

"c-can we change the subject?" Tamama whimpered.

Giroro blinked "yea... Sure..." he looked ahead "that earthquake must have been huge... Everything we've seen so far is damaged"

Tamama nodded "Giroro... Do you... Do you think we'll get out?"

Giroro stopped and looked down "no... No I really don't..."

Tamama shuddered with fear and leaned against the wall

"not many people in here can take that reality so well"

Giroro and Tamama froze at the voice that echoed from down the hall. They looked over to see a figure sitting over something, the sound of bubbling water could be heard.

Giroro frowned and went closer to it "are... Are you dead?"

The figure was wearing a dark grey cloak with a large hood over it's head. a six pointed star was sown into the back of the cloak with light blue string. it lifted the hood, reveling a greenish grey Keronian with black eyes "I am not dead" he stated "I am, like you, one of the living amongst these wretched halls"

Giroro and Tamama exchanged a glance. The Keronian chuckled "you can trust me, the mist of insanity has not yet clouded my mind, and I can see you are just as clear as me"

Tamama looked down to see a tiny propane fueled stove sitting in front of the Keronian, a pot sat on it, the bubbling was coming from it "sir... Is... Is that food?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes... But not the kind you would like" the Keronian gestured for them to come over.

Tamama and Giroro slowly went over, the stove was admitting heat and a tiny bit of light. A meaty smell was rising from the pot, Making Tamamas mouth water. Giroro and Tamama sat so they were facing the Keronian directly.

Tamama looked into the pot, and jumped away when he saw that the pot was full of boiling blood.

"Ahh!" he cried "y-your cooking blood?!"

"Wh-what?!" Giroro jumped away as well.

"Relax friends, it is not as gross as it seems... plus, it's not only blood" the Keronian pulled out a wooden spoon and began stirring the blood. maggots started floating to the top "stupid things, they always sink to the bottom and burn if I don't constantly stir"

Tamama gagged "y-you eat maggots?!"

"There's nothing else to eat in here, plus, they're a good source of protein. Their also very tasty when cooked just right"

"where did you get them?" Giroro frowned.

"I know what your thinking..." The Keronian pulled out a jar with tiny holes in the lid, inside was a massive amount of live maggots "I do not eat them when their full of rotten meat. I catch them and wait till the meat from the bodies as gone through their system, then I fed them with my own blood"

Tamama cringed "your own blood?"

"Yes... I found this schools science lab. They had clean syringes in there"

"Then... Then that blood in the pot is..." Giroro looked at the pot.

"Yes... It's mine. when they get cooked, they pop a bit, and whatever's inside leaks out"

Tamama shuddered "you eat... Your own blood? That's nasty!"

"It's survival my friend..." He sighed.

"Wait, how do you get the propane to fuel the stove?" Giroro eyed the canisters of propane that sat next to the Keronian.

"the science lab had all of the things I have here besides the blood and maggots" the Keronian pulled out three tiny plastic containers "please, I advise you eat"

"g-god no! I may be hungry but I ain't eating your blood!" Tamama held his good arm up in protest.

"Tamama" Giroro frowned "if we can't find anything else, this may be our only chance to get food"

Tamama gulped and looked at the blood filled pot "dont worry, it's sanitary" the Keronian said and began pouring the contents of the pot into the three containers.

Giroro sighed and took one as the Keronian handed it to him. Tamama hesitated before taking his own.

The Keronian blew into his container before taking a sip "my name is Wonono..." he said.

"My name is Giroro... This is Tamama..." Giroro said as he tried drinking his own share of the meal. He gagged a bit but managed to down a small mouthful.

"good names... good names..." Wonono took another sip "I'm very sorry you were brought into this place..."

"same to y-" Giroro was cut off by Tamamas gagging as he attempted to swallow some of his food.

"thank you for your pity, but pity won't be much use in here"

"good point..." Giroro looked down.

"have you two come alone? Or do you have friends who are now deceased?"

Tamama coughed and gagged as he swallowed some of the blood and maggots "eh... We used to be with three others... But..."

"one was being an idiot and ran off because we got mad at each other, and according to Tamama, another went after him while our leader went insane" Giroro finished "Tamama went after me to get away from him"

"ohhh... Not good... Not good..." Wonono groaned "you never leave an insane person alone..."

"huh? Why?"

"when someone goes insane in here, they snap out of it after a while with a very strange memory, they can remember what they did but at the time they couldn't process what they saw... Like a baby being born, when it comes out it knows no words, it cant describe colors, it can only think random noises when it has no clue what noises are..."

"b-but... But Giroro claims I went insane once! I don't remember anything of it though!"

"do you now?" Wonono asked.

"Yea I... Wait..." Tamama frowned and stared blankly at Wonono "wait... Theres... Something... I can't put my finger on it"

"sometimes it takes a while" Wonono looked at Giroro "but if someone goes under more then three times, their gone for good"

"good to know..." Giroro looked down the hall.

"Also..." Wononos voice got low "Never... _ever... _steal from a corpse..."

"huh? why?"

"Because, Spirits can get angered easily... I saw a dead little girl get stepped on by a living soul, he apologized and she forgave him, but he walked away with part of her intestine stuck to his foot! her spirit got up and killed him right there because of it!"

Wonono pointed at Tamama and Giroro "she then turned to me and demanded that I bring her intestine back to her body since she couldn't move it on her own! I did that and she calmed down and gave me this spoon as a thanks!" He waved the wooden spoon around.

"Never take something from a body! Not unless they tell you to! respect them and speak your thanks loud and clear for the wisdom they give! You can learn many things from the dead! Maybe you can live using the things they teach and give you until you can't move anymore from old age!"

"but remember, not all spirits are kind, some are evil! They crave bloodshed in hopes that someone else's suffering will ease their own!" Wonono had a wild look in his eyes, he was clearly getting hyped up from his speech "they burn red as blood, reflecting the raging anger they feel inside! Never trust a red sprit! Never!"

Giroro and Tamama exchanged a glance as Wonono sighed and calmed down.

"Another thing... This place can change... there was an earthquake just a while ago. Earthquakes symbolize when this place changes, when things are moved and when things are destroyed or created. Things can vanish and appear out of nowhere in a compleatly different spot!"

Wonono held up a bloody sword "this was at my feet when the earthquake had ended!"

Tamama gasped "h-hey! That's ours!"

"yea! That belonged to a friend!" Giroro looked at Wonono "we had it when the earthquake started... But I forgot all about it when we woke up in the debre!"

"If it belonged to a friend, then take it" Wonono let Giroro take the katana

"I had no idea that this place can be so... alive..." Tamama whispered.

"If you didn't know these things" Wonono frowned "that means you must have only just arrived"

"yea... A while ago... What time is it?"

"Ah..." Wonono lifted up a brass pocket watch with a six pointed star engraved into the surface "there is no time here... no matter what kind of time telling device you have, the numbers will always switch to zero, the hands continue to move but they just spin on and on, going way faster then they should"

Tamama took the watch and opened it, the hands were spinning like crazy, and the numbers had been replaced with zeros even though it looked impossible to do so.

"This is crazy..." Tamama gave the watch back to Wonono, then began to drink his meal again, getting used to the odd feeling of drinking blood.

"This is reality... The only thing to do now is... Live..." Wonono finished his blood and placed his container down on the floor in front of him.

Giroro closed his eyes "reminds me of the battlefield..."

"eh?" Wonono looked at him with wide eyes.

"You know... The battlefield... You look like the military type. What rank were you? or did you have a rank at all?" Giroro hitched a thumb at Tamama "we were trying to invade a stupid planet when we got pulled in... Where were you?"

Wonono had froze. His mouth hanging wide open. He suddenly grabbed the spoon and lashed out with it, knocking the blood out of Giroros hands. Giroro and Tamama yelped and jumped back.

"filth! Vermin!" Wonono screeched, his eyes ablaze with fury as he swung the spoon wildly around "leave! Get away!"

"Ok! Ok! We're going!" Giroro backed away "Tamama, lets get out of here!"

Tamama nodded and they both started running away into the darkness. Wonono kept on yelling after them

"die! Die in the void! Rot away until your bones are shown! Never return! NEVER!"


	17. You Really Shouldn't Go Alone

Giroro and Tamama stopped running after going through a door and closing it behind them. Tamama looked at Giroro, out of breath "wh-what was that?! Why did he suddenly start threatening us!?"

"I think he snapped..." Giroro rubbed his face "the poor guy must have been right on the verge of insanity right when we showed up"

Tamama looked at the door "I-I don't hear him yelling anymore..."

"h-he probably hurt his throat after yelling like that..." Giroro looked at Tamama "hm? Tamama... You still have that blood with you..."

Tamama looked down to see the plastic container full of steaming blood and maggots in his hands "I...I guess I was so freaked that I forgot I had it..."

"hey... Let me carry that..." Giroro took it from Tamama "your shaking so much you might spill it, this might be the only food we're gonna be able to find for a while"

"ah... Right..." Tamama hugged his shoulders "s-sorry..."

Giroro looked down the hall "we might as well keep going... Wonono might try to break down the door..."

Tamama gulped "yea..."

Giroro started to walk into the unknown territory with Tamama close behind him. Giroro kept Dororos katana out in front of him, while Tamama kept on looking behind them.

Giroro stopped as they approached another body. Tamama gulped "I-is that..."

"Yea..." Giroro narrowed his eyes "if even a Viper can die in here... Then we really have no chance..."

"Please stop saying that Giroro!" Tamama cried "I don't wanna die!"

Giroro looked back at the private "sorry..." he sighed.

Tamama gulped as Giroro started walking again, it felt like Giroro was slipping farther and farther away from him, talking about death like it was nothing special "no... No he can't go insane... Please no... not Giroro... I don't wanna die alone!"

Giroro and Tamama soon came to a door, a sign was nailed into the wall next to it.

_No food or drinks in the library_

_And remember to turn in all overdue books before June 1st _

Giroro blinked "hm... A library..." _  
_

"I-I have a bad feeling about this..." Tamama whimpered, eyeing several bloodstains on the wooden door.

"we need to explore..." Giroro said "here..." he gave Tamama the katana.

"Huh? Giroro? What are you..."

"stay here... I'll go on ahead"

"wh-what?! Giroro no-"

"if your so scared, then wait here where we know its safe. I'll go check it out and come back when I'm done"

"B-but it's dangerous!"

"I can survive..." Giroro mutteyes were lidded, as if he was tired.

"Giroro!"

Tamama shivered as Giroro opened and went through the door. It slammed shut behind him with a bang.

Tamama sat against the wall and clutched the katana tightly "Giroro... What's gotten into you?"


	18. Labyrinth In The Library

Giroro awoke in a large room, the walls lined with many books and notes. He looked around "Tamama?" He called out. Silence greeted his words "what the hell? Where am I? Where's Tamama?" He looked down "I...don't remember coming here..."

Giroro spun around to see a bloody door "is that the exit?" He grabbed the doorknob and attempted to open it, but it wouldn't budge "crap... Wait... Did I go insane, and did Tamama lock me in here?"

A wave of fear flooded through Giroro "that means I could have hurt him!"

"TAMAMA!" Giroro pounded on the door "Tamama! Can you hear me?!"

Giroros fear worsened as he could not hear the privates reply "no... God fucking no!"

Giroro looked behind him, there was blood everywhere. There was also a heavy feeling of dread, it made Giroro shudder violently.

He slowly pulled away from the door, despite the horrid feeling in the air, he was compelled to explore "No... no I need to find out what happened to Tamama... I... I... I need to go farther..." His train of thought made a sudden switch and he soon found himself walking deeper into the large room.

He stumbled through the many rows of shelves crammed full of books, almost in a trance as he made several rights and lefts, it was like he was in a labyrinth made of books. Yet somehow he went on without hesitation, going through it as if he had memorized it by heart.

Soon Giroro came to a halt at a dead end, there he stood, eyes blank and unblinking as he stared at the wall.

Suddenly, he jerked and took a step back, his eyes widened and he looked around "wha... What? How did I..."

he froze as there was a hissing sound behind him. He turned around to see something on the ground, it looked like a Keronian, but it was horribly rotten. All the skin torn away and the disgusting meat underneath was dripping blood. It had no legs, they seemed to have been torn off.

Giroro backed away, holding his nose as the smell of decaying meat became unbareable. the thing had two glowing red eyes and its teeth could be seen from the lack of skin. the hissing grew louder as it used its mangled arms to drag itself toward Giroro.

"n-no! Stay away!" Giroro grabbed and threw a book at it. It bounced off it's head and hit the ground with a dull thud. it snarled and started to go faster.

Giroro kept on tossing books at it, but it kept on coming, it suddenly sprinted forward with intense speed, making Giroro yell in shock as it collided with his chest. They both fell down and lay on the ground.

Giroro shoved the thing away, which had gone limp for some reason. He sat up, with wide eyes and tried to calm his heavy breathing as he looked at it.

He soon calmed down and smiled. Then he stood up and stepped over the legless zombie and started walking away.

He stopped as the zombie let out a feeble cry. Giroro turned back to see it feebly scratching at the ground.

he crouched down so he was face to face with it "hurts, dosent it?" He whispered softly "that means it worked..." He chuckled "man, this is pretty good... I feel great... I gotta hand it to you for being so careful"

the thing whimpered and reached a decaying hand out to Giroro, but he just slapped it away "I forgot what it's like to be able to walk..." Giroro smirked "in fact, I forgot what it was like to be in anything but agony"

He stood up "enjoy the library!" he cackled and started walking away "you'll be here for a while!"

The zombie wailed weakly after him as Giroro vanished around a corner, his laughter could be heard throughout the entire library as he left the thing behind.


	19. The Pain Of The Dead

Giroros vision was strange, he saw everything through a shade of red. His entire body was ablaze with pain, it hurt so much he wanted to scream, but he couldn't make much of a noise. He felt what seemed like a hole in his throat, the only things he could say were hisses or a wet gargling noise because of it.

Giroro looked at his hands, and whimpered as he saw that there was barely anything left of his arms, they were almost rotted to the bone.

But they didn't hurt, the only thing that hurt was his legs. He looked back and shrieked as he saw that he had no legs, nothing but two ugly stumps.

Giroro looked away "what the hell happened?" He thought and clawed at the ground, pulling himself forward a tiny bit "I look like that creature..."

He had been in to much shock when he first felt the pain to get a good look at whoever had spoke to him before. but now he remembered hearing his own voice and seeing a glimpse of his own eyes.

"No... No that can't be..." Giroro tried to crawl forward again "that couldn't have been me... I'm me! But..." Giroro felt his face with his rotted hands "this... This is not my body..."

Giroro tried to call out for help, but the only thing that came out of his rotten throat was a croak.

"Tamama... Please help me!" He tried to crawl forward again. He then froze "wait a minute... Tamama... He won't know that it's me... and I sure can't get tell him... But..."

He looked at his hands "but... If that thing is now walking around looking like me... And its as crazy as it sounds...Then..."

Giroro let out a shriek and started clawing at the ground frantically, trying to move fast "then Tamamas in danger!"

it took him forever to round the first corner "fuck... how did I get here!? I don't remember!" Giroro blindly went around the next corner.

It felt like hours before he hit a dead end "no! Shit!"

He struggled to turn around and went back the way he came, only to come to another dead end a few minuets later "no no no!"

Giroro squeezed his eyes shut "I won't be able to get out of here in time!"

he stiffed as he heard what sounded like a crunch. He looked to the side to see something huddled up against another dead end. It was a Keronian corpse searching through a pile of bones.

Giroro whimpered "is that a good corpse or a bad corpse?" He thought, panting from the pain.

The zombie looked over at him, its eyes glowing red. Giroro shrank away as it stood up "fuck!"

He tried to crawl away, but the zombie blocked his path and grabbed his mangled arms, his body was crawling with maggots.

Giroro shreiked as it started dragging him through the maze, making rights and lefts so fast that it made Giroro dizzy.

Soon he was released. He hit the ground with a thud and whimpered. The corpse walked away, dissapearing from sight.

Giroro looked up to see the door he had come in through "h-he brought me back... He helped me..." Giroro looked into the shadows "thank you..."

Giroro crawled up to the door, and to his horror, it was open slightly.

He peeked through the crack in the door, voices were mummering from the other side.

"Relax Tamama... It's me..."

"How do I know your not crazy?!"

"If I was crazy, how would I have the sense to return to you to make sure you were safe?"

"you would never go in the alone!"

"I did that to make you feel at ease"

"you scared the shit out of me!"

Giroro looked in and saw Tamama backing towards the door he was looking through, the katana in his hand. Giroro shuddered as he saw a red keronian facing him from afar "That's my body!" Giroro looked up at Tamama, he was shaking and using his good arm to point the Katana at the other Giroro.

"Tamama..." Giroro heard his own voice come from his own body "it's ok... Give me the katana..."

"No! No don't give it to him!" Giroro thought desperately.

"Stop asking me that!" Tamama cried.

"I need that to protect us" Giroros body spoke gently

"no, he wants to hurt you! Run away Tamama!" Giroro mentally screamed.

"Remember the earthquake that happened before we came here?" Giroros body said.

Giroro froze "how could he have know...?"

Tamama blinked "huh?"

"The earthquake that happened before the house vanished?"

Giroros eyes widened "what?! how does he know about that?"

"If I was crazy, I wouldn't be able to recal something like that now would I?" Giroros body walked closer to Tamama "it's really me Tamama... Just give me the katana and we can go on"

Tamama looked at the sword before handing it over with a shaky hand.

"NO!"

Giroro screeched just as Giroros body was about to grab it. Giroro burst through the door, making Tamama jump and scream. He whipped the katana out of the imposters reach and pointed it at Giroro.

Giroros body frowned as he saw the thing "Tamama, get away, I need the katana to kill it"

Giroro hissed and tried speaking, but it was very hard.

"gha... Bah... Ma... Ba... Da..." He gurgled and crawled forward. Tamama jumped away to the side and squealed.

"Gha... bah... Ma... Ba... da!" He repeated.

He kept on crawling, right at the fake Giroro.

"GHA BAH MA BA DA!"

The fake smirked, his eyes cold and full of evil.

Giroro blinked, wondering why he was smiling, but before he could figure it out, there was a dull _thunk _and his chin was forced onto the ground.

He squeaked and tried to get up, something had gone through his head and got stuck in the floorboards underneath.

"The katana! Tamama must have stabbed me! But I don't feel it..."

He kept pushing himself up until he tore himself free. The Katana now very bloody and the handle still stuck in his jaw.

He grabbed it and tore it out, then looked back at Tamama who was shaking violently.

"I'm scaring him..." He thought "oh Tamama..."

He turned to face him "Ah... Mah... Mah..."

Tamama blinked "h-huh?"

"Ah... Mah... Mah..." He croaked and reached a rotten hand out to the private "ah... Ma... Mah... ha...lp.. Mah..."

Tamama backed away "a-ah..."

"Ha...pl... Mah..." Giroro repeated, he could see a puddle of blood forming under his throat since the hole in his neck had started bleeding.

"Tamama! Get away!"

the imposter grabbed Tamama and yanked him away, making his cry out.

Giroro growled "don't be so rough with him!" He thought and got ready to charge at him.

Suddenly they both froze, looking at the door with wide eyes. Giroro blinked and looked back to see the corpse that had helped him before standing there, it's red eyes glowing fiercely.

the imposter backed away "no way... That can't be..."

The corpse stared at the fake, it's jaws open as if about to say something. Suddenly a deep voice came from it.

"Killed from the loss of blood, left to crawl on the ground, in constant agony that can drive one to bloodlust..." It growled.

Giroros body back away again as it started advancing "after 100 years, the energy had built up enough to rip a soul from its body and take its place, giving the pain to a live soul while the dead roam free of pain..."

Tamama blinked "wh-what are you talking about?"

"A boy with a kind soul met the suffering dead, promising to trade places to ease their agony for a short while. But as the switch was made, the dead was killed once again in the living body, making it unable to return to the boy..."

the corpse walked right up to the imposter "the boy grew angry, thinking the dead had tricked him and left forever. Over a hundred years he waited to claim a new body... and he did..."

it looked at Giroro "yet this inoccent spirit that he traded places with endured the pain and was strong... and I was pitiful... For once, good was done under my influence..."

Tamama backed away from them and looked at Giroro, who looked up at him hopefully.

"And this body does not hurt as much as one would think..." He looked at a large shard of wood that was stuck in his body "but... I do not deserve it"

he looked back at the imposter "give him his body back, and I will give you yours and feel the pain for you. That is my punishment for not returning"

the imposter stared at him, shaking slightly. He then looked at Giroro and began walking towards him with shaky legs. Suddenly, Giroros vision went black and the sense of intense relife crashed down on him like a massive wave.


	20. Back To Life

"G-Giroro! _Giroro!"_

Tamama shook Giroro roughly, panic and worry clouding his eyes. He had rushed to the corporals side after he had collapsed and fallen limp as a doll, his eyes lidded and showing a hazy black pupal that seemed to reflect lifelessness.

Suddenly he jerked and energy flowed back into his eyes. He yelled and grabbed Tamamas shoulders, panting hard. Tamama winced as Giroro grasped his bad shoulder, but he ingored the dull ache and focused on Giroro.

Giroro released Tamamas bad shoulder and clutched his chest, his now lively eyes tiny and full of some sort of emotion that Tamama could not describe. The red Keronian closed his eyes and let his head fall on the rotten wood floor with a thud.

"J-Jesus..." He finnaly sputtered in between gasps "I-I... I can't... I can't..." He trailed off, whispering under his breath. Tamama stared at him "could it be true? Could he have really been in a dead body? Does that mean he was actually dead for a while?"

Giroro reopened his eyes and slowly sat up, looking at Tamama with a weird look "I... I'm sorry... I... I..."

"I-is it really you?" Tamama suddenly blurted out "are you... Back?"

Giroro flinched before nodding "y-yea... Dont worry..."

Tamama looked down "th-that's what... He said..."

Giroro winced, then looked away. He blinked and looked behind Tamama to see the two corpses sitting against the wall, snuggled together in a comforting embrace. They were still and their lifeless eyes glowed red no more.

Tamama looked over to see them as well "I dont think I can keep going..." He whimpered and looked down "all this death and anger... I can't take it..."

"I-I... I can't let you give up..." Giroro grabbed Tamamas good arm, making the private turn his attention back to him "your to young to die... I... wont let it happen..."

Tamama closed his eyes "b-but..."

"listen... We are going to get out of here... We are going to go home... And we are going to live... and there's no way I'm breaking that promise... Got it?"

Tamama looked at Giroro, he looked determined as ever and seemed to have already gotten over the shock of having to take the place of an angered spirit.

Tamama sighed "g-got it..."

Ok then... Lets keep going..." he stood up slowly, his legs shaky "K-keep the katana..." He leaned against the wall "j-just give me a second..."

Tamama stood back and watched as Giroro took a few deep breaths and struggled to stop his legs from shaking so much. It was obvious that he was still recovering from the sudden change of pain to relief and that his little motivational speech had taken a lot of effort.

Tamama looked at him with worry as he wavered and almost fell. Giroro looked at Tamama after he regained his balance "o-oh don't look at me like that... I'm not a crippl-"

he was cut off as he tried to take a step forward and fell down with a yell. Tamama gasped and went to help him, but he held his hand up "n-no! No I got it..." He sputtered and struggled to stand.

Tamama looked around and saw a skeleton with a metal pole in its boney fingers. Tamama went to grab it, but stopped as Wononos words echoed in his mind.

"Never... _ever... _steal from a corpse"

Tamama looked at the skeleton again "could a rusty old pole really be something to kill over?" he whispered and looked back at Giroro, who was still struggling "we need to get moving... But Giroro needs something to help him stay upright, and the walls are covered in splinters... The pole would be a perfect walking stick"

He looked back at the skeleton "uh... excuse me..." He said as bit louder.

Giroro looked at him "wh-who are you talking to..." He saw the skeleton "No... No Tamama that's not safe, we don't-"

There was a sudden burst of red light that soon formed into the shape of a Pekoponian male that toward over Tamama, his face scrunched up in anger. Tamama squeaked and fell back, Giroro stumbled over and grabbed Tamama, trying to pull him away, yet he was still weak so he made little progress.

He looked up at the angry spirit "w-we're sorry! We'll leave!" Giroro stammered and managed to haul a frightened Tamama to his feet without falling himself.

Tamama and Giroro hurried away, Giroro obviously slowing them down but Tamama refused to leave him behind.

They soon stopped after going through a few halls and doors. Giroro was panting from the effort their escape had been. They collapsed against the wall, out of breath "I-I'm sorry..." Tamama sputtered. "I-I had no idea..."

"J-just don't randomly talk to spirits..." Giroro rubbed his face "y-you just have to a assume that everyone in here is angry..."

He slid down the wall and onto the floor, Tamama did so as well and looked away from the panting corporal "I almost just killed us..." Tamamas eyes grew wide "we would be dead if that spirit had gone on the offense..."

"rrrrng..."

Tamama blinked and looked over at Giroro, who was making an affort to stand. He collapsed back down and groaned "f-fuck..."

"M-maybe we should just wait for a while?" Tamama squeaked "maybe it will wear off..."

"Maybe..." he rubbed his eyes "I'm so tired... I could sleep for a..."

Tamama flinched as Giroro fell silent in the middle of his sentance, then relaxed as he saw that the coporal had just fallen asleep.

He scooted over and pressed his cheek against Giroros shoulder, slowly falling into a deep sleep as well.

soon, both of them were snoring softly, the halls around them echoing pure dread and fear into their sleepy heads.


	21. Spiders Den

Giroro raced through the halls of the school building, his ragged breathing coming and going quickly and his eyes wide.

"Tamama!" He yelled "where are you?!"

He looked back over his shoulder, even though he was alone, he felt like he was being chased, followed by an unholy being of some sort that he desperately needed to get away from. But at the same time, he was sure that Tamama was in danger as well.

"TAMAMA!" He screeched, rounding a corner and barging through a door that blocked his way.

He skidded to a halt and stared with a horrified look at what lay before him. Tamama was standing in front of him, but he wasn't really standing. He was a whole foot off the ground, the only reason it looked like he was standing was because a massive metal pole had been stuffed down his throat and through his rear, keeping him upright and off the ground.

Giroro backed away, blood was oozing out of the privates eyes, throat, and where the pole exited. Giroro let out a cry of horror and fear and turned to run, only to come face to face with the smiling black mound that had first shown them the portal.

"One by one you will die, no one in here lives for long, what makes you different?"

Giroro wailed and turned around again to see Tamama was off the pole and standing right in front of him, his eyes dead and full of anger.

"You let me die... It hurts so much... I hate you..."

Giroro collapsed as blood oozed lazily out from in between the dead privates teeth and onto the corporals face. It suddenly started gushing out wildly, and Giroro screamed as it began to flood the room, rising higher and higher, threatening to drown the red demon.

It suddenly felt like the gravity of the room had increased, forcing him onto the ground and letting the blood cover his shaking body with ease. Giroro squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, and slowly, a burning sensation grew in his lungs, growing more and more unbearable by the second.

Soon he couldn't help but open his mouth to scream, but only blood entered his mouth and down his throat, it seemed to have a mind of its own and began filling up Giroros lungs, making him thrash around wildly.

He opened his eyes out of panic, and immediately expected to see nothing but red and feel the sting of liquid touching his eye, but all he saw was a blank wall and a rotting wooden floor.

The moment his eyes had opened, the pain and blood in his lungs had vanished, making him gasp and start breathing hard. he looked at himself, no blood, just a few bruises that he had gotten a whle back.

Giroro closed his eyes and groaned, then looked to the side to see Tamama laying beside him. He looked at his rear to see that there was no ragged, bloody hole and saw that the tadpole was asleep.

Giroro rubbed his head "just a dream... just a terrible, terrible, dream..."

He started to stand, his legs still shaky, but he was able to stay upright without wavering.

He sighed and knelt down and shook Tamamas good shoulder "hey... Get up..."

Tamama whimpered and opened a eye "wh-wha...?"

"We need to get moving, come on, on your feet"

he hauled the sleepy Tamama to his feet and looked down the hall "lets get going... Cover more ground..."

Tamama rubbed his eyes "ngh... cant I just sleep some more?"

Giroro winced as he recalled his nightmare "no... No just start walking..."

"please?" Tamama whined "my feet still hurt"

"no"

Giroro pulled the private along as he went deeper into the darkness "I feel like I'm losing it..." Giroro thought and bit his lip "but I can't... Tamama needs me... Everyone else needs me..."

Tamama rubbed his eyes and opened his mouth to complain, but just let out a tiny squeak and pulled back on Giroros arm as a reaction of some sort.

Giroro was jerked out of his thoughts and quickly looked back at the tadpole to see him looking at the wall. Slumped against it was the oddly fresh body of a young Pekoponian boy with fuzzy blonde hair.

Giroro gulped as he saw something golden imbedded in his chest with blood still oozing out around it. It looked like he had only died a few seconds ago.

"How did we get so close to it without noticing it?" Giroro frowned as he realized that he was only a foot away "man, I must have been really deep in thought-"

the young boy suddenly lunged out and grasped Giroro roughly, making both he and Tamama scream. Tamama jumped away and held the katana out and pointed it as the boy, who was now staring at Giroro with a haunting look.

"The... Eyes..." the boy sputtered before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the side, freeing Giroro and letting him jump back.

Giroro grabbed Tamama and pulled him away and deeper into the hall "wh-what was that?" Tamama cried as they hurried along.

"I don't know, but that boy was defiantly alive" Giroro looked at Tamama "his hands were warm and his eyes had some life in them, At least until he fell over"

"b-but what did he mean? what about eyes?!"

"I don't know, its possible that he was crazy and just rambling"

Giroro and Tamama halted as they found themselves at a dead end with a door in it. Giroro looked back at Tamama, then grabbed the knob and pushed it open.

Both of their jaws fell open with shock at what they saw. The entire room was covered with what looked like spider webs, they were on the walls, the ceiling, even the floor.

Tamama clung to Giroro and whimpered "wh-what is this?"

"Uh... Spider Man's room?" Giroro took the katana and poked the webs, it wasn't as sticky as one would think, it was probably easy to run on.

Giroro started to walk deeper in "I don't see any spiders..."

"this is pretty old over here... All dry and stuff" Tamama pointed at a massive crusty patch of web on the wall "this has been here for a long time... Giroro, I really don't like thi-"

he suddenly stopped, making Giroro looked at him "what? What is..." He looked at what the privates horrified gaze was fixed on. He took a step back and grabbed the privates hand.

Sitting literally right next to them was a massive spider, it's legs twitching softly and its back to them.

"How the fuck did I miss THAT?!" Giroro thought and pulled Tamama away "that thing is huge! Oh my fucking god!"

Giroro and Tamama shrank away as the spider shifted around, then began to stand. It's front legs out in a offensive stance.

it suddenly turned to face them, and they both sucked in a breath as they saw its face. Where eight eyes should have been, there were eight bloody holes. A ugly screeching noise came out of it and it suddenly charged at them.

Giroro pulled Tamama out of the way and looked at the door to see it was closed and sealed shut with web "when did that happen?!"

Tamama screamed and ran away as it charged at them again. Giroro ran away as well, the spider now in between the two.

The spider went after Tamama, who screamed and ran away, Giroro hurtled the katana at it, but it just bounced off it's hairy backside.

The spider screeched and charged at Giroro, when he dodged, it went up the wall and onto the ceiling, then it dropped onto Tamama.

He screamed and clawed at the web covered ground as the spider pinned him down with a massive hairy leg.

"NO!" Giroro ran at it and jumped into its back, making it hiss and rear back, freeing Tamama. But as the Private ran away, there was the sound of metal on flesh and a cry of pain, followed by a thud. _  
_

Giroro looked at Tamama on the ground, holding his foot and crying. Right next to him sat what looked like a metal box, and judging by the scuff marks in the web, it seemed that the tadpole had tripped over it.

the spider suddenly shook Giroro off and scurried over to the downed Tamama, Giroro hit the wall and cried out with pain, then looked up to see the spider towering over his friend.

"N-NO!" He screamed and ran at the spider with arms outstretched and yelling like a mad man.


	22. The Box

Tamama looked up at the giant spider, it's fangs were oozing green venom as it prepared to strike. Giroros yell sounded in the distance, and Tamama looked over to see him running at him, his arms outstretched and his eyes wild.

Tamama looked back at the spider, just a second away from delivering a poisonis bite with fangs that could demosish a anvil.

Tamama, in panic, grabbed the metal box he had tripped on and hurtled it at the spider right as it came down onto him. It landed perfectly in between its fangs, and it let our a surprised shreik and scuttled backwards and away from Tamama.

Giroro reached Tamama seconds after and hauled him away quickly. After getting to the door, Giroro attempted to rip the web off the door.

Tamama watched as the spider spit out the box, but instead of it going after them again, it stood still, it's front legs stroking the box gently.

"W-wait..." Tamama grabbed Giroros arm "l-look..."

Giroro stopped tearing and looked at the spider "wh-what is it doing?"

the massive spider let out a soft hiss and kept stroking it with its front legs. Tamama slowly started to walk over to it, but Giroro hauled him back "what are you doing?!" he whispered and went back to tearing.

"b-but..." Tamama looked at the box "something not right... I..."

he stopped as he noticed the spider brushing away some of the web on the box, revealing golden paint.

he started walking over to get a better look at is as Giroro was focusing on the door. by the time the red Keronian noticed he was gone, Tamama was standing behind the box, directly in front of the spider.

"n-no!" he ran over "are you CRAZY?!"

he was about to drag him away, when he saw the box. it was covered in golden paint, and the edges seemed to be made of pure gold itself.

"wh-whoa..." he muttered "whats something so expensive looking doing in here?"

Tamama shuffled around so he could see the side that the spider was facing "Th-theres a golden lock on it..." he looked at Giroro "I... I think the spiders trying to open it..."

"oh stop it!" Giroro dragged him back over to the door "it's just confused! we need to get out of here before it comes back to its senses!"

Tamama looked at him "but..."

"but nothing!"

Tamama frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but suddenly stopped and his eyes grew wide. he grabbed and tore at the web covering the door along with Giroro. The moment it swung open he ran through it "hey! dont run off on your own!" Giroro followed him.

Tamama skidded to a halt by the now dead boy they had passed earlier "i-its gone..."

"what? whats gone?" Giroro said as he came to a stop beside him.

"Th-the golden thing that was in his chest! its gone! it had the same patterns on it as the box!"

"you think someone stabbed this kid with a key?"

"the same person who owned that box!"

"why does this matter? its not like there's treasure or something in that stupid box!"

Tamama looked at him "that spider wanted to get in that box, maybe it couldn't and that's why its mad!"

"mad? spiders kill for food!"

"that spider was dead!" Tamama snapped "its spirits angry! something in that box belongs to it! remember what Wonono said?! spirits get angry when their things get stolen or lost!"

"what could a spider possibly value?!"

Tamama looked at the boy, then back at Giroro "what did he say?"

"huh?"

"the boy, before he died, he said something... something about..."

"eyes..." Giroro finished "so what?"

Tamama took a step back "G-Giroro..." he whispered "did you get a good look at the spiders head?"

"no... why?"

"the spider... it had no eyes"

They both fell silent, Giroro looked at the door "you think its eyes are in that box?"

"that has to be it... its blind, I bet it lost track of it because it couldn't see and it was mad that it lost it"

"but that's okay! we can go now! it got it back so its fine!"

"but its going to soon realize that it cant open it! meaning its going to get mad again!"

"then what?!"

Tamama frowned, then started to walk away "Then im going to find that key"


	23. Big, pretty eyes

"Now hold on!" Giroro grabbed Tamamas uninjured shoulder "whoever has that key killed a guy! you want to go after a murderer with a bad arm?!"

"There has to be another door hidden in the webs, if we can calm the spider down we can get through!"

"This is to risky! I wont let you!"

Tamama pulled away from Giroro "I'm going! you cant stop me!"

"oh yes I can!" Giroro yelled and tackled Tamama to the ground before he could go any further.

"eeek!" Tamama screeched "g-get off of me!"

"not until you get that stupid idea out of your head!" Giroro tried his best to keep most of his weight off his bad shoulder "we are not going after that guy and we are not going to go any further! we are staying _RIGHT HERE!"_

Tamama looked back at him "if we stay here, the murderer might come to _us!_"

Giroro froze "the chances of that happening are..."

"High as fuck! now get off of me!"

before Giroro could respond, Tamama wiggled out for underneath him like a snake and stood over him "if we dont move on, our chests will be treated like key holes!" he pointed at the boys body "for that we need to calm the spider, to do that we need the key! now you can sit here and be a coward or help me!"

without another word, Tamama turned and walked away, leaving Giroro to stare at him in shock for a few seconds.

"Tamama has never acted so brave before..." he thought as he got to his feet "is it because he wants to go home that badly... or is it this place tricking him into death?"

Giroro shook his head and ran after him "no, no being brave is a good thing... why would this place give him a good virtue?"

Giroro skidded to a halt as he almost ran into Tamama, who had come to a stop and was staring into the darkness "hey, whats the problem?"

Tamama looked back at Giroro "Im scared... you know that right?"

Giroro blinked "yea... I am to..."

"but... at the same time it feels like I'm... not scared... its... confusing..."

Giroro placed his hand on Tamamas good shoulder "maybe I was right... maybe it it this place..." he thought.

"think carefully Tamama... if your confused then you shouldn't make wild choices"

Tamama shook his head, his eyes squeezed shut "I-I dont know... I-I'm... I..." he sank to the floor and sat against the wall "m-my ears are ringing... I... I cant... I cant think..."

"Tamama?" Giroro said and crouched down beside him "Tamama?"

Giroro winced as he realized that the tadpole was crying "hey... It's alright... No ones forcing you to make a decision..."

"I...I..." He sniffed "G-Giroro..."

"Yes?"

"Why... Is it so cold?"

Giroro blinked, only now did he realize the air was freezing far more then before. He shivered and rubbed his shoulders "I-I don't know"

Tamama suddenly flinched "d...do you hear that?" He whimpered.

"H-hear what?" Giroro stopped as a faint giggle echoed throughout the halls.

Giroro quickly looked around "w-who's there?!"

The giggling continued "ehehehehe..."

Giroro looked down the hall to see a young Pekoponian girl standing a few yards away from them, her skin a gentle pink that showed she was alive, but she had two bloody holes where she should have had eyes. If she was indeed alive, she would be in tremendous pain.

Tamama sucked in a shaky breath and clung to Giroro "th...the... The key..."

Giroro froze as he eyed a skiny gold key in the eyeless girls hand, the tip of it dripping blood.

"O-oh no..." Giroro thought and hugged Tamama and stared at the girl with wide eye s "that's who killed him... The boys dead because of her..."

The girl stopped her giggling and tilted her head "I can hear your eyes moving... Their big... Big and pretty..."

She frowned and pointed at the two holes on her face "would you give me an eye?"

"What?" Giroro blinked, suddenly losing his fear for some reason no one could explain "why the heck would we do something as stupid as that?!"

He slapped his hand over his mouth as he realized what he had said, Tamamas mouth went slack as he turned to stare at him "Giroro?"

"Well then..." The girl laughed softly "if you won't give me an eye... I WILL GET IT MYSELF"

in an instant, the girl was in Giroros face, so close their noses were touching.

Giroro yelled but didn't move, his body was frozen against the wall, Tamama screamed and grabbed the girl by her neck "NO!"

The girl shoved him away, and when he landed, a sickening pop that was closely followed by a scream was heard.

"T-Tamama!" Giroro tried to look at him, but he still could not move.

Tamama held his shoulder and screamed again, he had landed on it, causing it to once again, pop out of place.

The girl ingored Tamama and raised the key to Giroros left eye "hehe... I wonder if it will be the right size... If its not... I'll have to take one from your friend... If that one won't work, I'll gouge out the ones I left behind!"

"What?! why?!"

Becuase if I can't have an eye... Neither can you!"

Tamama suddenly let out a shriek far louder then before and charged at the girl, slamming into her, dislocated shoulder and all.

They both screamed and fell over, Tamama snatched up the key while struggling to stand "RUN GIRORO!

Giroro suddenly realized that he was suddenly able to move and ran after the tadpole who had also started to run, the girls screams followed them. They were about to go through the spider door when what felt like an invisiable hand suddenly wrapped around Tamamas leg. He screamed and fell, the key slipping from his fingers and hitting the ground with a clatter.

Giroro stopped and went to grab him, when the girl came up from behind and got inbetween them, her eye sockets ozzing pus and blood.

"How dare you!" She kicked Tamamas dislocated shoulder, making him scream louder "I'll take both of your eyes! I'll lock them away so you will never be able to see again! Ha... Hahaha!"

Giroro suddenly yelled and grabbed the key. Just ask the girl brought her foot down to kick Tamama again, Giroro drove the key deep into her scull. Her scream was cut short as she dropped dead.

Giroro ripped the key out and ran over to Tamama, who was crying and holding his shoulder.

Without exchanging any words, Giroro pushed Tamama up into a sitting position and snapped his shoulder back into place.

Tamama fell limp, even with the pain gone, tears still streamed down his face.

Giroro hugged the private tightly, his own eyes wide and his hands shaking, the bloody key still in his hand. There they sat for what felt like hours, knowing that the girls pain would be with her forever now.


	24. Eyes galore

It felt like many hours before Giroro stood "c...come on... W-we need to go..."

Tamama let out what sounded like a sob/hiccup and nodded. He grabbed onto Giroros arm and pulled himself up "d-do... Do you think it hurt?"

Giroro looked at him to see the that he was crying "I... Yes... Yes I do..."

He whimpered "I wonder how we will die..."

"D-don't think that..." Giroro looked at his bad shoulder "think about finding bandages... And helping the spider..."

"Did I just say that?" Giroro thought "just a while ago I told him to forget the spider... To move on, but now I'm encouraging him to help it... Why?"

Tamama snapped him out of his thoughts by moving away and walking to the spiders door. Giroro clutched the key tightly and followed, he could see the private was still shaking.

When they reached the door, Giroro handed Tamama the key and grabbed the door knob with a shaking hand "what am I doing? Why am I shaking? Stop it!"

Giroro gritted his teeth and opened the door slowly, revealing, the spider and the box, still in the same position from when they last saw them.

Giroro and Tamama exchanged glances before they walked in, Tamama, who was obviously terrified, yet kept going. Soon he stood in front of the box, facing the spider.

He looked back at Giroro before gulping and beginning to talk

"H-hello?" He started, looking up at the eight bloody holes that used to be his eyes "can you... Hear... Me?"

The spider hissed quietly and looked down ever so slightly. It's fangs twitching.

"I... Uh... I can... Open it..." He sputtered and held the golden key up "I can... Uh... Uh... Help you get inside..."

the spider stopped hissing and leaned forward a bit, it's fangs almost touching Tamamas face.

Tamamas eyes were large as grapefruits as he continued "u-uh... Y-your blocking the... Keyhole... So... Could you please... S-stand back?"

The spider continued to stand awfully close to him for what felt like hours before taking a few steps back, revealing the keyhole.

Giroro tensed up, this part was crucial, Tamama would now have to turn his back to the spider to open the box... Meaning he was vulnerable for an attack from behind.

Giroro got ready to spring forward if he needed to get Tamama out of there quickly "don't you dare touch him... Don't you dare..."

Tamama turned his back to the spider and plugged the key into the keyhole, it went in without resistance. Tamama sighed and gripped it tightly, if this was the wrong key, and would not turn, he would surly die.

It turned.

The box popped open, and inside sat eight, meaty, red balls, all of them bloody, and they released a stench that made Tamama gag.

He quickly stepped out of the way, letting the spider crawl forward. It hissed and nudged the box with its head. Looking happy, for a spider at least.

But it's happiness soon vanished and was replaced by sadness as it could not fit its head into the box. Tamama sighed and looked at Giroro before walking up and reaching in to take a eye.

Giroros mouth fell open with shock as Tamama took the eye and pushed it into one of the bloody holes that were in its head.

The spider jerked as the eye went in with a sickening, wet noise. Then stilled.

Tamama kept on doing this until all eight eyes were in the right spider stayed still for the longest time, it's fangs and legs twitching ever so slightly.

It suddenly hissed and turned to Tamama, it's rump twitching, and in a flash, white web had sprayed out of its rump, and in a way that seemed impossible, had wrapped around Tamamas bad shoulder, holding it gently, yet firmly in place

this all happened in mere seconds. Tamama and Giroro both gasped and took a step back when this happened. Tamama looked at his newly bandaged shoulder and then looked back up at the spider "th... Thank you..."

Just as he said those words, the spider crumpled up and went limp, a final hiss escaping its fangs.

Giroro and Tamama exchanged a look, or at least they tried, Tamama fell into a feint before they could establish eye contact.

"Ack! Tamama!" Giroro ran over. The tadpole woke up almost instantly. His eyes wide "d- did... Did that just happened?"

Giroro nodded "u-uh... Yes..."

he looked at the spider, then at the wall "G-Giroro!"

Giroro looked over to see part of the web had fallen away, revealing a new door.

Giroro stood up, pulling Tamama up with him "we did it..." He looked at the private "uh...mostly you though..."

Th-thanks..." Tamama smiled "onward?"

"Onward"


	25. Chapter 25

Dororo raced through the halls, panting hard "what's happening? This makes no sense... Why would Giroro go against an idea, then reinforce it like that? And why would Kururu be stupid enough to propose such an idea in the first place?"

He stopped running and leaned against a wall and tried to catch his breath "I need to find Kururu before he does something... Eh?"

He looked around, he was no longer in a hospital, he was now in a museum, full of artifacts and paintings, all worn down and dirty.

He gulped "I-I just... This is impossible..."

"Save him"

Dororo flinched and looked around "wh-what? Who's there?!"

"save him"

the mysterious voice sounded like a woman's, it had a hint of sadness in it.

"save him... Please..."

"S-save who?!"

The voice fell silent, leaving shivers that went up Dororos spine. He starting running again "was she talking about Kululu? No! She couldn't be!"

Dororo rounded a corner and found himself in a long hallway, a few doors were here and there, all with diffrent signs on them.

Dororo slowed to a trot, his legs aching and his heart pounding "I wish I had the sense to actually act like a ninja... Then I wouldn't have to slow dow-"

the clatter of what sounded like metal against stone suddenly inturupted his thoughts, he turned to see that the source of it came from a room he had just past. Dororo went back and looked at the sign on it.

"Janitors Closet"

he gulped and turned away "I shouldn't get distracted, but what if it was Kururu? Did he kick something?"

He turned back "save him..." He whispered aloud, compleatly not meaning to. "Kururu, was she talking about you? Why would you need saving?"

He shuddered and grabbed the door knob "why? Your smart, you would know better then to get yourself killed-"

he stopped dead as he opened the door and saw what was behind it. The janitors closet had mops and brooms and paint cans along the walls, one paint cat lay near the center, but it was rolling around on its side.

The top of the closet had a light fixture, or it did have one. It was now gone, leaving a hole that exposed a metal bar, pherhaps the plumbing.

Tied to that bar was a rope that was worse for wear, but still thick and sturdy. And the end was tied into a noose, and in that noose, was Kururu.


	26. Swinging from a noose

Dororos hands flew to his mouth as he watched Kururu swing ever so slightly back and forth in front of him, his body twitching and saliva dripping out from in between his teeth.

"Kururu... K-KURURU!" Dororo managed to scream and lunged forward, grabbing onto him and shoving him upward, praying that he was still alive, the Keronian coughed but did not move. Dororos knees were shaking violently and threatened to give in.

"Assassins don't value strength, they value speed and silence! I'm so weak I don't think I can carry even another Keronian for very long!" Dororo thought as he tried to reach behind him and untie the noose.

Dororo huffed as he could not reach the knot "I need something to wedge into the knot so I can loosen it! But I don't have anything!"

he suddenly recalled that he still had the cover for his sword "but can that really help me? Oh what ever! It's the best thing I got!"

Dororo got Kururu onto his shoulders with his head above his own, and grasped the cover of his katana, and began poking the knot. Some how, the cover made its way inbetween the rope and it loosened.

Dororo was shaking violently, his legs burning and his eyes teary "oh please don't die... Please please please..."

With the cover of the katana, he inched the now much bigger noose over Kururus head, letting him fall and give Dororo his full weight. He cried out from the sudden gain and his legs finnaly gave out.

He fell onto his knees, Kururu slipping off and landing next to the ninja. Dororo looked at him, Kururu was trembling, and to Dororos relief, he was still breathing. Dororo winced as he saw that his throat was cut and bruised, blood was trickling out slowly. Not exactly life threatening, but it would be a big problem if it got infected.

Soon Kururu started coughing, his breath ragged and his hands instantly flew to his neck. Dororo pushed him up into a sitting position, only just realizing how much his body ached from the weight he had just indured.

Kururu looked at him, dazed and sluggish "Ku... Ku... D-Dororo?" He rasped and let out another cough "Wh-what... What are you..."

Worry was replaced by confusion and anger "Kururu?! Why?!" Dororo cried "why would you try to hang yourself!? What the heck got into you?!"

Kururu looked at him "ku? I... I-I didn't..."

"Yes you did! If I had arived a moment later, you would have been dead!"

Kururu groaned and put a hand to his neck, and held it to his face, seeing that some of the blood that had ozed out was now slathered over his palm and fingers.

"No... Ku... I... All I did was walk away from you guys and then... It all went black... Next thing I know... You were here..."

Dororo frowned "are you serious?"

"Do you think I'm that stupid? kukukuu..." Kururu looked at him and put his non bloody hand to his chest, pretending to be offended.

Dororo groaned and held his head "looks like your ok... But I don't understand how you survived that long..."

Keronians have most of their weight in their head, while hanging requires the body's weight to pull down and break the neck... Kukukuu..." He said mat ter of factly "but I would have died in the end anyways..."

Dororo looked at him, his anger replaced by relief "ok... We need to go back... Tamama and Giroro are together... I think... But Keroro..."

His voice drifted off and he felt like crying "Keroros... Crazy..."

Kururu looked at him "ku... That's problematic..."

Dororo nodded "hopefully, We can get by him and find Giroro and Tamama..."

"Your optimism will get us killed" Kururu muttered "there are zombies and ghosts and crazy people, you think this will be easy?!"

"You seem quite alright for someone who almost got killed!" Dororo snapped.

"Kuku~ what can I say? I love pain~"


	27. Cruelty

Kururu took the lead back to the door that separated the hospital from the museum, Dororo stared at the back of his neck, which was seriously worrying him.

Kururu looked back at him "ku~ anyone else may think you have a crush on me"

"e-eh? How so?!"

"You keep on staring at me, lance corporal" Kururu sneered.

Dororo frowned "I'm worried about your neck..."

"Ku..." He turned back to the direction he was walking "I'm fine"

"it looks like it hurts..."

"Of course it hurts" Kururu suddenly spat "what are you? A idiot? If something's covered in blood and has holes in it, it hurts"

"th-that's not entirely true... You could simple dig a hole on the soil and drip some blood onto it, I am sure that the dirt would not be in pain..."

Kururu turned to face Dororo entirely "and where did that blood come from?"

Dororo flinched "uh... Uh..."

Any way to retrieve blood hurts, everyone knows that. No matter what's done with that blood someone was hurt in the procces"

Dororo winced at Kururus cold tone, though he was right, he felt like Kururu was using every chance he got to drive him away.

"W-why are you being so mean Kururu?"

Kururu snorted and went back to walking "because your innocence is practically making me suicidal, if I don't blow of some steam I might hang myself again... Kukuku"

"n-now that's a lie! And why are you leading anyway? I thought you didn't know the way back!"

"It's a fucking museum" Kururu growled "they have signs everywhere telling us were to go. We obviously came in from the exit, theres signs telling us were the exit is, you really are more stupid then Keroro"

"Wha- that's not true!"

"Kuku... Then sharpen up and start focusing"

he gave Dororo a challenging look "prove me wrong, ninny boy"

Dororo shut him mouth, and looked down.

"KU"

he looked up just as he crashed into Kururu, who had suddenly stopped.

"K-Kururu?" Dororo looked over Kururus shoulder and froze.

The door that separated the museum and the hospital was gone, leaving nothing but a blank wall.

"B-b-but... I-I was just here... I... I..." Dororo backed away.

Kururu growled "god damit..."

He looked back at Dororo, who was now shaking violently "ku... It looks like we can't go back..."

"Th-that means Tamama and Giroro are stuck with Keroro!" Dororo cried.

"You do realize that we were not gone for just a second, it's been far longer then that. Keroro could have easily walked away... Or he could have followed us... Kuku"

Dororo froze "are you saying he's with us!?"

Kururu growled "I did not say that! Jesus crist!"

Kururu jabbed Dororos chest with his finger "that was obviously just a theroy! For all we know the door could have vanished the moment you walked through! If you keep taking whatever I say seriously, both of us will die!"

"What's going on with YOU?!" Dororo pushed him away "you keep on talking about different, compleatly logical ideas on what happened that I have every reason to be afraid of, and then you call me a sissy and say it was just a THEROY?! A THEROY THAT COULD VERY MUCH BE TRUE!"

Kururu growled and pushed him back "well I'm sorry your so much of pussy to take a god damn joke!"

"SAYING THAT WE ARE POSSIABLLY BEING HUNTED BY OUR INSANE LEADER IS NOT A JOKE! IT'S DOWN RIGHT CRUEL TO SCARE SOMEONE LIKE THAT!" Dororo shoved Kururu into a wall.

"Well guess what, I AM cruel! I am very much cruel! I practically live of other people's pain! I love it! Kukukuu! In fact, I love it so much that I just wish I could just torture the SHIT out of-"

he was uruptly stopped by Dororos hand lashing out and delivering a smack to his cheek, turning his head to the side so he looked down the hall. He looked back at Dororo to see that he was crying, his shoulders shaking with each sob "I don't want to die, Kururu! I don't want to die!" He cried and to Kururus horror, wrapped his arms around the yellow keronian.

Kururu hated hugs, he hated anything that had potential to be warm and loving. Dororo continued to cry into his shoulder, getting blood from Kururus neck wound onto his forehead.

After a while, the ninja pulled away, still crying. He looked at Kururu with wet puppy dog eyes and sniffed "w-why are you trying to drive me away?"

Kururu stayed silent for what felt like hours before pushing him away and walking down the hall "kuku... Museums usually have fire exits... Lets find one of those"

Dororo watched him a bit before wiping his eyes and following.

"He didn't answer my question..."


	28. Subject 0

Kururu and Dororo walked in silence, avoiding eye contact.

Dororo stared at the walls and the notes written there, all of them bloody, and they all somehow contained the words "die" and "help"

soon, as they continued walking, one caught his eye. It was not on the wall, but on the floor.

He bent over to pick it up, it was a pretty note, pretty small, about four inches wide and six inches tall. There were pink designs along the top of the page and the lines on it were also pink, the paper inbetween the lines was a light blue, and the ink used to write on it was purple.

The writing was in cursive, Dororo looked at the date, but it was scratched out and unreadable, but the first line said it all, which took Dororo by complete surprise.

_"Dear diary, I just got you a day ago, you see, yesterday was my second birth day, mommy says you are something I can write my true feelings down in and no one but me can read them. You came with a pretty lock and a pretty key, I made the key part of a charm necklace that I'm working on, mommy says I can keep it because it dosent look like trash. She says it looks like something the ********** would wear, so I can wear it to. I only hope that we can become the best of friends... _

_P.S. please don't let my new ******* read this, I plan to tell you EVERYTHING!"_

Dororo gawked at the note "Second birthday?! This girl is two years old and her handwriting is this good?!"

Dororo looked at Kururu to see that he had stopped to read over his shoulder "ku... Some of the words are scratched out..."

"This says the person who wrote this is a BABY! A TODDLER!"

"Kuku... That is rather odd"

"rather odd?! It's crazy! When I was two I couldn't even hold a pencil correctly!"

Kururu shrugged "kuku... Who cares?" He walked away "now come on"

"hey, there's another one !"

Kururu looked back to see Dororo reaching into a hole in the floorboards "oh... Wait... This isn't... Eh?"

Dororo pulled out a blue sheet of paper, a bit lighter then the diary page but bigger. Dororo began to read it aloud.

_"It had been 12 days since subject 0 was discovered, in order to contain it, this museums basement was expanded 100 stories downward to use as our base. The ***** organization expects it to be kept secure, and demands that this subject will not aid us in the war against the ********, but we will continue to exam it. It appeared in a swamp close to our main base, and showed no hostility upon capture. I myself will lead the experiments, the subject seems to be in a long sleep, not moving or responding to any test, pain, or any of our attempts to communicate with it. But it looks very foreboding, black as night and sorounded by a dark purple mist, and I was there when the subject was captured... It had looked at me with these haunting red eyes... And a smile that made me shiver... I must be careful when extracting samples..."_

Kururu and Dororo exchanged a look "erm... Ever hear about something like this Kururu?"

Kururu shook his head "ku... No... Hey Dororo?"

"What?"

"Just... Keep an eye out for more of those... I'm intrested in this 'subject 0' thing..." Kururu continued walking "it may tell us why this museum is here..."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"This dimention we're in obviously chooses places where bad events have happened to hold us in... Remember that hospital we were in before? I saw a newspaper clipping in there stating that a terrorist went in and shot everyone inside... Everyone but the children in there that day, and all of them died anyway when he planted explosives in stratigec places and caused the entire 20 story building to collapse"

Dororo shuddered "g-good god..."

"Something like that could have happened here... And I think it would be pretty important information... Expecially if that subject 0 is here with us..."

"Now why would subject 0 be here?"

"Red eyes? Purple mist? Black as night? A smile that can send shivers down your spine?"

Dororo froze as he remembered the face that had opened the portal to this world "o-oh my god..."

"Keep an eye out for blue papers... And... Kukukuu... Red eyes..."


	29. The Metal Door

"Here's another one"

Dororo blinked as Kururu bent over to pick up a blue price of paper "oh... False alarm... Just another diary entry..."

"Hey wait, I want to read that..." Dororo plucked the note from Kururus fingers just before the scientist could flick it away.

"Dear_ diary, I'm sorry I cannot write in you frequently... I am very busy with my lessons and I have no free time, I am now four. My mom is very sad all the time for some reason, and I do not know why. She says she will tell me when I am eight, when I can_ understand _it better. My dad is sad to and he tells me the same thing, so is everyone I speak to. In fact, now that I am looking hard enough, I can see that I am very different from them, even my parents. I wear fancy dresses while they were practically nothing at all... I eat with three different forks and two different spoons and knifes... I stand with a strait back no matter what while they slouch over their food... I am very confused by it all... I must go to bed now my dear diary, perhaps I can write in you once more... And judging by my schedule, I may be nine by then..." _

Dororo looked at Kururu "this kid sounds like shes being raised to be part of a beauty pagent..."

"Kuku... It depends... What species is she?"

"It dosent say..."

"Last time I checked, the only species that made tones of money from child beauty pagents were Pekoponians... To intergalactic species like us and Vipers are more focused on war..."

"It can't be a Pekoponian... The writing is WAY to small... Even for a Pekoponian four year old..."

"To big for a viper too..."

The only species this small of a hand at four years is... A Keronian..."

"Makes sense, she talks about people wearing only a little bit of clothing, Keronians usually only wear hats and stickers..."

"You think she could be royalty?"

"There's no royalty on Keron... Not anymore at least..."

Dororo frowned "here's a better question... I thought everyone here was being tortured or going insane... So... Why is there a diary entry that a little girl wrote who seems to be in the real world here?"

"Ku... Maybe she had her diary with her when she came in, and the books pages started falling out..."

"If that's true... Then a little girl..."

"She may have aged between then and now..."

"Y-your right... Sorry I-"

Dororo suddenly stopped and looked down the hall "uh... K-Kururu?"

Kururu followed his gaze to see a small figure sprawled out on the ground, Kururu frowned and looked at Dororo "stay close..."

Dororo nodded and followed him as he approched the figure.

It was a Pekoponian female, possibly an 10 year old. She was covered in so much blood that the only thing they could find that wasn't red was some orange hair and a blue dress.

Dororo whimpered and looked away while Kururu got closer "kuku... Looks like someone caved her head in... And..." He frowned "ripped apart her entire body..."

"I-I want to leave..." Dororo choked out "I-I can't stand this..."

"Just give me a second..." Kururu looked past the body to see yet another corpse, this time, much older. Another female with her head cut clean off, the head was nowhere to be found.

Kururu turned away and put a hand to Dororos shoulder "we can leave now"

"g-good!" Dororo gasped and hurried away, Kururu right behind him.

"Ku! Hey! Don't go so fast you idiot! You might-"

there was a sudden crack and a scream from Dororo as his foot went right through the floor, luckily, he only went down a few inches, and he was able to crawl out quickly without getting more then a scratch .

"You moron!" Kururu snapped and went over to him "use your head!"

Dororo looked up at him with wide eyes "I-I..."

"What if that hole was alot bigger!? You could have fallen to your DEATH!"

Dororo shrank away from him and looked down, his entire body shaking.

Kururu grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up "god damit... You will get us both killed" he snarled and continued walking.

Dororo slowly followed behind, his knees knocking together "m-maybe he's right... Maybe I am a hazard..."

Kururu stopped as if waiting for him to catch up, making Dororo a bit happy that he wasn't compleatly mad at him, but as he approched he soon realized the reason why he had stopped.

Laying on the ground in front of him was a note written in blood, and the first words made Dororo shake even more violently then he already was.

_"I ate her... I was starving... If I had not, I would have died... All my life I was different, taller, stronger, weirder... A combination that should not appear in nature... They were nice to me though, they patted me on the shoulder and congratulated me when I did something good... Scolded me like a normal person if I did something bad... But I did something good, right? I saved myself... Then why do I feel bad? And why do I want more? I shouldn't, in fact I shouldn't be feeling anything. I didn't know her, I didn't know the headless woman she was grieving for, I gave her a quick death anyways. I did her a favor. I couldn't eat all of her though, I don't have a big enough stomach... And leftovers in here can't be cooled... She will rot... Oh well, maybe I'll just get fresh meat when I get hungry again, there's alot of people in here anyways" _

Dororo looked at the page on horror for several minutes before turning his gaze to another note next to it, the handwriting different and the words were sloppy as if someone was near death when they wrote it.

_"Fear the metal door, fear it, it's a cafeteria, a kitchen, fear it._

_He loves it juicy, he loves it tender, he loves it warm._

_fear it fear it fear it fear it fear it fear it fear it._

_It's a slaughter house, don't go in, only fear it."_

Kururus brow scrunched up and he looked at Dororo "I think we should stay away from metal doors..."

"l-like that one?"

Kururu blinked and followed the ninjas gaze to see a dark grey door in the wall next to them. The doorknob was metal as well, and blood was ozzing out from underneath it.

"ku..." Kururu grabbed Dororos hand and pulled him along, away from the door and deeper into the museum "do not go in there... Understand?"

"Y-yes..."

"Good" Kururu looked back at him "this place is manipulative, I can feel it. No matter what, you do not go down that hallway ever again. If you hear my voice from there, you ignore it, if you see me there, you run away, if you find yourself alone, you stay put... Got it?"

"Uh... Yes..."

Kururu turned back to the hallway "make sure you do"


	30. Secrets

Kururu kept a hold of Dororos hand as they walked, his mind whirling with possibilities, soon he turned to Dororo "do you remember the first note we read? The one you freaked out about?"

"Huh? Uh... Yea?"

"It said we would remember the same thing forever if we died... The same sight, the pain..."

"Yea... And?"

"It was wrong..."

Dororo blinked "what?"

"Ku... That note was written so calmly for a child who watched their sibling die right before them... And if the same sight was going on through a ghosts head, wouldn't they remember who killed them?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Amaria... The ghost that helped us save you... She could not rember that her brother had killed her"

Dororo blinked "then why did the note say..."

"That note was made up..." Kururu frowned "that was no child that wrote that note... I don't know who, but they purposely gave us false information..."

"But why?"

"For you" Kururu poked Dororo in the forehead "you were right on the brink of insanity when we found that note, all you needed was a purpose... A reason to kill us... What better reason then if you killed us, we would never forget you... And isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Dororo froze "I-I..."

"This place has a mind of its own... And it is more then welcome to help the deadly survive... It incuraged your insanity and we almost died from it..."

Dororo watched as Kururu hitched his thumb in the direction of the metal door "meaning we have a perfect reason to fear that whatever is behind that door is strong and alive"

Dororo looked down "dosent that mean it could..."

"Come out and chase us? Yes... And that's not even a theroy"

Kururu grabbed Dororos hand again and continued walking "so keep your ears open, and stay light on your feet"

Dororo nodded and squeezed his eyes shut "uhhuh..."

Suddenly he felt a crunch underneath his feet and jumped into the air "EEEK!"

He landed and darted behind Kururu, who was instantly pissed "you idiot! It was just another note!"

"Ah..." Dororo watched as Kururu picked the piece of paper up "s- sorry..."

After giving the ninja a angry look, he began to read it.

_"An amazing discovery was just recently made! It took so long to procces I compleatly forgot to write my log for an entire week! I took two samples of DNA from subject 0 and I left them in air tight containers, and just as I was about to look at them more closely, they turned from black to white! And they started to GROW._

_In a panic me and my fellow scientists dumped them in two separate holding spaces as they got too big for the containers I once had them in. They started to grow heads and legs! One of them stopped growing when it reached about 2 feet tall, and it has these strange, cat like legs with just a point for it's feet... But the other kept growing until it was 6 feet tall! It had pekoponian like hands and these cat like hind legs._

_It was incredible, life from a single cell of DNA... The only problem was that they were... Violent... We already lost 4 scientists to them... And they eat everything imaginable! The only reason that they haven eaten their war out of their metal confinement is because their heads are circles, and their 'teeth' curl ever so slightly inward so they can't get a good bite out of a flat surface!_

_This will be a difficult challenge... But I will make sure it gets done. We will find out what these things are..._

_The small one is now subject 1, the big one is subject 2... And subject 0 has had no change whatsoever"_

Kururu muttered something under his breath, then looked at Dororo "kuku... Did you understand any of that?"

"Uh... Sort of..."

"This would have been a ground breaking achievement.., I should have known about it... Everyone should have! Then why... Why is it being hidden?!"

Kururu frowned "this dosent make sense... And the first one talked about a war!"

"And the fact that someone 'demanded that it wouldn't take part in it... A organization of some kind..."

"The name was crossed out I couldn't read it..."

"The only war I know about is the war between the Vipers and the Keronians..."

"That makes no sense... If this was a keronian scientist who wrote this, all of Keron would know about it... But if it was a viper scientist then only the Vipers would know..."

"But Vipers are bloodthirsty! They would DEFIANTLY have used it against us by now!"

"But they were ordered not to?" Kururu rubbed his head "that goes against the Vipers way of things..."

Dororo looked down the hall "hey... Look..." He pointed at yet another pink and blue page "these things are everywhere!"

He picked it up and started reading.

_"Dear diary, I estimated correctly... I am nine now and I know what I am to be..._

_Apparently the ******** family has a deal with the *****, they have what we call the 'chip', a flashdrive with all ********* with 1% or more of **** in them, if it gets out to the ******** ******** over 1/3 of the ******** population will be exucuted and accused of terrorism... To prevent this the ***** made a deal with them, every generation we must give them what they want... For 6 generations they asked for nothing but gold... Now they want a wife for their son._

_My mother was the only one umong the ***** to be pregnant with a daughter at that time, so now I must be raised as one of the default ********, ignoring my ****** spirit and acting like they do... I must go to planet ***** at age 18, where my new 'husband' waits for me... He will be 20 by then..._

_I will be forced to marry a man I have never met before... And bare as many children as he wants..._

_I doubt that I will be able to write in you when I leave..."_

Dororo and Kururu exchanged looks of horror "is this illegal?" Dororo sputtered.

"Depends on what species this is... Like we said before it has to be a Keronian...

So yes... Kukukukuuuu"

"th-they can't just send a child to be a freaking wife! I don't care if their sending her off when she's 18, this is like slavery!"

"There's many things scratched out... But what I can read says a lout of people will die if they don't do this... And I wonder..." Kururu scratched his head "kuku... What I'm mostly interested in is this organization... It's on the lab notes and the diary entry's... It's at least 5 letters long though... Humph..."

"Th-they must be rich if they can give this 'family' a bunch of gold... And just take a baby and say that it needs to go... Hm... Maybe it's a cult of some kind?"

"Ku... As crazy as it sounds... That could be true..."

He suddenly let out a hiss and slapped his neck, Dororo winced as he saw a fly buzzing away from it "k-Kururu..."

"I'm... Fine!"

"Your neck could be getting infected! We need to get it dressed" Dororo looked at it closer to see puss oozing out of it "we need bandages... Ah!"

Dororo pointed at a statue of a female Viper dressed on sheets "those are perfect!"

He ran over and took a sheet and started to tear it into strips "hm... I'm going to need soap..."

"I'm fine!" Kururu repeated.

Dororo ignored him and looked around. He went to a case with a few words in graved on a stone slate attached to it.

_"The quiltertwin seaweed is very common in planet Vipers oceans, early settlers used the sweet smelling juice inside the plant for hand soap"_

"aha!" Dororo looked into the case to see that it was full with murky black water. He used a loose board to break the case open and with the board, fished out a slimy, green plant. He grabbed the plant and broke another case to the left with the same board.

He reached into that one and pulled out a glass bottle, and he started popping open some air sacks on the plant and carefully squeezed the purplish goo out into the bottle

He ran Back over to Kururu and immediately started slathering the goo onto his neck "ku! Ow! Watch it!"

"Sorry Kururu!" Dororo didn't stop and kept on rubbing it in, Kururu hissing and twitching.

Soon Dororo pulled his hands away and started rubbing the inside of the bandages he got with more of the stuff, then began wrapping it around the wound, sticky side facing in.

Kururu muttered something under his breath as Dororo tied the knot "there... Better? Can you breath?"

Kururu scowled "yes"

"you sure? It's not to tight?"

"IM FINE!" Kururu suddenly snapped.

Dororo took a step back as Kururu began to walk away "Don't ever... EVER... Do that again!"

Dororo stood there, utterly confused as Kururu went on ahead, cussing. Steam practically coming out of his ears.


	31. Mood Swings

"He didn't have to do that... Completely unnecessary!"

Kururu could sense a confused Dororo following him, but ingored him "his caring nature and that natural adoreablness he has is making me sick! Ugh!"

His neck did indeed feel better, but he was not going to let Dororo know that "I don't want him touching me like that again!"

"Uh... Kururu?"

"Shut it!"

Dororo winced "d-did I make you feel... Uncomfortoable?"

"I SAID SHUT IT!"

Dororo stopped walking "b-but..."

"But nothing! Your a worthless, stupid, whimpy, pathetic..."

Dororo felt his eyes getting wet with tears as Kururu continued to throw insult after insult at him, so angry that he couldn't even use his special laugh. He had stopped to lean against a wall, yet his insults did not cease.

"...blundering, weak, cowardly, moronic, crybaby, pitiful, adoreable, innocent, kind, gentle..."

Dororo blinked with confusion as Kururus insults slowly turned into compliments.

"...forgotten, sweet, loyal son of a bitch with nothing but good fucking intentions!"

Dororo watched as Kururu stopped to catch his breath, his shoulders now sagging and his body started to shake. He sat against the wall and let out a moan, as he did so, the crinkle of paper was heard.

Kururu stiffened and pulled out a peice of blue paper from under his rump and looked at it.

_"It has been a whole year since I had added to my log... And that's just because of the amount of work and shocking events that have taken place in our lab..._

_Subject 0 suddenly started acting up, and after five minutes it somehow got out... I don't know why or how, but I remember seeing those red eyes and that smile flash by me in the hallway... The thing compleatly destroyed the walls separating subject 1 and 2, and it simply then appeared back in its area... We feared that the subject would start fighting, but to our surprise, the two stayed in their areas instead of venturing to the other side... But eventually subject 1 wandered over there._

_We thought subject 2 would totally destroy subject 1 due to the difference in size... But they just sat there staring at each other curiously, then after a hour they did something we never expected._

_Subject 1 practically danced on over to subject 2 in a hilarious way, and the two started to play. Subject 1 would dance around subject 2 while subject 2 would constantly turn, trying to swat subject 1 away in a playful matter. Knocking it down and onto its back and pinning it there gently, then letting it escape and they would start over._

_Soon they fell asleep with each other, throwing me into such a good mood that I almost yelled out our victory to the sky. These two creatures have just proven to me that they can be kind and friendly, and now I must conduct experiments to see how far we can go"_

"That sounds... Like it must have been a great thing to watch" Dororo whispered.

Kururu rubbed his head "ku... Whatever..."

He stood up, facing Dororo. His hands quaking "don't touch me like that ever again... I can take care of myself"

"but... How can you when your always taking care of me?"

Kururu bit his lip "ku... Kuku..."

They both fell silent, staring at each other, the silence was almost deafening in some sort of way.

Finnaly, Kururu spoke up "kukukuuu... I'm fine... I can do this... Just don't... Ever do that again"

Kururu bekoned for Dororo to follow, then continued to walk down the hall. Dororo went after him "he kepts on having these weird mood swings... First he's mad at me... Now he's all calm... And before he was really mean!"

Dororo caught up to Kururu "is he going to be alright? I mean, it's not like he's going crazy...

Right?"


	32. How Does This Story End?

Dororo was constantly looking around for blue pages "if we can find who this secret organization it, I bet Kururu would be alot happier..." He thought "that would be great... He's been so stressed out..."

Dororo frowned "and I'm curious about this girl... And who had the nerve to threaten 1/3 of a population like that..."

Dororo blinked and smiled a bit when he saw a flash of blue "Sgt major! Here's another one!" He pointed at the wall, where a blue peice of paper stuck out of a crack in the wall.

"Ku..." Kururu pulled it out and looked at it.

_"Six months have passed by, and subjects 1 and 2 are playful as ever. I took a risk and went into their area, staying near the door in case they charged at me. The subjects were curious of me, yet they stayed away, watching me from afar._

_I threw them some meat and subject 1 scampered over, snatched it up, and trotted back over to subject 2, both of them shared the food and then continued to watch me. I did this for many days, doing the same thing over and over. Each time they drew closer and closer to me until they could eat the meat out of my hand._

_It was incredible, these were creatures who once lashed out at anyone that drew near them, eating them alive and showing now mercy... Yet now they are playful and gentle creatures... They're also very smart, when they had warmed up to me enough they attempted to play, however they were not aware that I was very... Breakable unlike them, so when subject 2 gently batted at me, I went flying and hit the wall. Luckily I only broke a rib, and the subjects seemed to sense I was hurt, subject 1 actually came up to me when I was down and stayed with me until I managed to stand_ and_ get out. _

_When I went back in with a bandage around my chest, they instantly came over and started to make these soft cooing noises, and started sniffing my bandage. They didn't attempt to play like that again, clearly showing that they had learned that they're rough housing had hurt me. And that they didn't want that again. _

_They have also learned not to eat everything that gets thrown at them. I gave them a massive rubber ball and they started playing with it rather then eating it. They have warmed up to me so much that they have even let me pet them. They have a soft layer of fur on them, which is so thin I could not see it from a distance, yet it is probably the most softest thing I have ever felt. I have also noticed that subject 2 has a extra layer of skin that starts from its throat to his crotch, and it hangs ever so slightly. But I am no where close to getting DNA samples, I cannot ruin the trust they have given me. _

_ the ***** were right to say that they were not aloud to fight in the war... These are gentle, intelligent, and wonderful creatures, not war machines. And I must say, I'm getting rather attached to them"_

Kururu looked at Dororo , then without saying anything, he continued walking.

"Uh... Isn't it nice? That... Uh... That their having fun?"

Dororo winced as Kururu gave him a hollow look, as if he was depressed.

"If they were having such a good time..." He whispered "why is this museum here?"

Dororo flinched away as he continued "don't jump to conclusions... Until you've read the story to its end"

Kururu kept walking down the hall, Dororo watched him, his body once again shaking "He's right, something happened in this museum... Something awful... Something to do with subject 0"


	33. Why You Gotta Be So Rude?

Kururu flipped through the lab notes he had gathered over time. A frown slathered onto his face.

"Subject 0 in a deep sleep? I seriously doubt that..."

"Uh... Kururu?"

Kururu got yanked out of his deep thoughts by Dororos voice, he turned to see the blue keronian staring at him curiously "uh... Are you alright?"

"I'm... Fine... Why do you ask?"

"I've noticed.. Uh... That your not doing your... Uh..." He snapped his fingers, trying to find the right words "er... Special laugh? I don't know what you call it..."

"I... Guess you could call it that..."

"Well... You used to always do it alot... And now your barely doing it anymore... It started to stop coming out when we found those lab notes... Are you ok? I'm mean, is it normal for you to just... Stop?"

Kururu frowned and held his hand up to his mouth as if to laugh, yet nothing came out "he's right, I don't feel like laughing... In fact... I don't remember sounding so... Serious..." He thought and cleared his throat "where's the hint of snotty doucebag in my voice? I sound... Normal..."

He tried to force it out, but the feeling sounded foreign to him now "I don't get it... Is it because I'm in this life or death situation? Or... And I losing it?"

He shook his head "f-forget it... Ku..." He turned and continued walking "I'm fine..."

Dororo frowned as he to realized the change in his voice "what's happening to Kururu?" He thought as he continued to scan the ground for blue papers "I don't want to lose him... Not here..."

He blinked as he saw a diary entry sticking out from inbetween the floorboards. He picked it up and began to read.

"Dear diary, I am now 17... Just one more year... One more year to be with my family. They cannot come with me, they have to stay behind... And I must forget them... I must move on with a man I do not know. I can only hope that he is nice, but mom says that no matter what, I must stay with him until my death.

I really don't want that, but I have no choice. It's me or millions of people.

Mom and dad where paranoid that I might get injured at the last minuet, so they assigned me a body guard... It's really awkward because he has to be watching me at every second of the day... Even when I'm changing or in bed! But he is nice, he says his name is ******.

I just wish he would go away, it's not because he's always watching, I just feel weird whenever I see him... My face gets all hot, and it shows on my cheeks... It's really uncomfortable. I don't know what this is..."

"kuku, sounds like he wanted to tap that, kukukuu!"

Dororo jerked away as Kururus voice boomed in his ear, his old asshole accent had come back, but it sounded forced.

"D-don't be a pervert! Besides, it only talks about her reaction to him! Not his..."

"Kuku, what ever" Kururu laughed "but I bet on the next page it'll say they were fucking!"

"K-Kururu?! What has gotten into you?!" Dororo put his hands on his hips "why would you think such things?!"

"Cus it's normal for a grown man with a successful sex life to think about it, unlike you!" Kururu poked Dororo in the chest "what are you? 22? And your still a virgin? Oh how cute! Kukukukuuuu!"

Dororo blushed madly and pushed his hand away "wh-what gives you the right to tease me like this?" He cried "just a second ago you were so nice!"

"Never overestimate me virgin!" Kururu crossed his arms and tilted his head up a bit, his lips curled up into a mocking grin, flashing his forever clenched teeth in the darkness.

"S-stop saying it like its an insult! I-it's just a word!"

"In this day and age, that word means alot!" Kururu out his hand to his mouth and continued to laugh "kukukuuuu! Still mommy's innocent little boy huh? How pathetic!"

Dororo sniffed, his shoulders shaking "y-you... You... Asshole!"

Dororo suddenly yelled and threw a punch at Kururus face, but since Dororo was still a assassin, not a karate master. His whimpy punch was stopped short by Kururus hand lashing out and blocking it.

Both of them stood like that, Dororo crying and panting hard while Kururu stood quietly, his laughter gone and the teasing look he once had now replaced with cold, seriousness.

"I'm glad to see you're still in there..." He muttered and turned away "only you would have the sensitivity to cry whenever someone so much as called you the simplest of names..."

Dororo watched him, his eyes wide with shock "wh...what?"

"Well? Don't just stand there" Kururu started walking away "keep up, or I'm leaving you behind"

Dororo winced and hurried after him "he was just testing me to see if I was sain?"

"What a way to do that..."


	34. Inhuman (insert better title here)

Kururu muttered something under his breath as he pushed a cabinet over, making it fall onto its side and spilling out the many fancy artifacts it contained. Dororo stood back, watching him with a puzzled look as he then turned and shoved another one over.

"Uh... Kururu?"

"Not now!"

"But..."

Kururu gave him a stern look "look, just let me do this"

"but what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find the damn key!"

"Uh... By pushing things over?"

"Hey, you have a better idea then all the other ones we have tried? I didn't think so"

Dororo frowned and looked at the door they were trying to unlock. A while ago they had hit a dead end and the door was the only exit out of it besides the way they had once came. The only thing they had found in the dead end was another lab note and a bunch of cabinets.

_"Something extraordinary has happened, to test their awareness, we placed a massive sheet of glass and a big mirror in their containment chamber. They seemed quite aware that what they saw in the mirror was themselfs, yet something kind of scary happened when they went to the glass._

_I was standing on the other side of the glass, watching them, and subject 2 came up to face me on the other side of it, but soon there was no more subject 2, instead there was a reflection of me!_

_In just a fraction of a second, subject 2 had shrunk and changed shape and color to perfectly reflect me! I tried moving my hand and subject 2 did just the same! It was as if the glass and turned into a mirror!_

_I tried the same when subject 1 came over, and soon there were two of me on one side of the glass and the real me on the other. But underneath my exitment was fear, for if the ******** got ahold of these shapeshifting abilitys, the war would become even more confusing and horrifying then it already is. I cannot alow that to happen._

_On the plus side, through some careful drawing of blood, I found that their blood is a baby blue."_

Dororo had expected Kururu to be exited, but he had just got silent and had started to tear up the dead end, looking for a key.

Then Dororo remembered that the story had to end in some horrific way, meaning the more happier this story gets, the more tragic the ending will be. Something deep inside him wanted the last lab note to stay hidden.

Kururu grunted and threw another cabinet down, this time, the wooden frame shattering and breaking apart with ease. Revealing something small and silver "kuku! Found it" Kururu reached down to pick it up.

"There it is again!" Dororo thought "why is his voice changing like that? First he sounds normal, then he sounds like a snotty jerk... What the heck is wrong with him?"

Kururu looked over at him "what are you looking at?"

Dororo blinked "h-huh?"

"You look like theirs something on my face"

"o-oh... It's nothing I was just lost in thought..."

"Humph..." Kururu stuck the key into the door knob and opened it.

Dororo was just about to follow Kururu as he went in when something caught his eye. A corner of white sticking out of the cabinet that once held the key Kururu had retrieved.

He turned and bent down to look at it "oh... Another note..."

He pulled out the white note and looked at it "what the...?"

On it was a drawing what looked like it had been sketched by a child, in the upper right corner there was what looked like a door leading into the room, a square was above it, and in the center of the page was a bunch of arrows and numbers.

"This is rather strange..." Dororo muttered "Hey Kururu, what do you-"

He was cut off by a screech that made him jump, the air instantly grew cold and the sound of vicious footsteps sounded right next to his ear. They soon faded away, leaving Dororo shocked and slightly dazed. His ears ringing from the both equally loud noises that had just wreaked havoc upon his eardrums.

He looked at the door "k... Kururu?" He stumbled over to the door and looked in, and instantly feel back onto his ass.

The floor of the room was marked with massive black footprints, each one with 3 pointy toes. They went across the room, up against a wall, and down another hallway.

Dororo clutched his chest as he tried to imagine whatever could create such inhuman footprints. Then blinked and looked around "K...Kururu?"

He was no where to be found.

Dororo stood up "K-K-Kururu!"

The silence swallowed his voice whole.

Dororo walked into the room slowly "Please... Kururu stop playing with me!"

He froze as he saw the wall that the footprints went by. Five scratch marks ran across it. He shuddered and raised his own hand up to them, the scratches lined up perfectly with all of his fingers.

He took a step back "it's as if someone... A keronian... Grabbed at the wall while moving very quickly..."

Dororo covered his mouth and began to cry "Kururu! Oh Kururu stop it!" He screamed "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!"

He fell to his knees "n-no more! Please just come out! Stop playing with me!"

He reared back and screamed even louder, his arms bent and his fingers curled.

"KURURUUUUUUUU!"

He then collapsed onto the ground, still clutching the note he had gotten. He sobbed into the rotting floor, his body shaking.

"I want to go home... I want to see Koyuki... I want to play ball with Zeroyasha... I want to water my garden and plant a flower outside of my cabin... I want to listen to Keroros stupid voice... I want to watch Giroro beat him up... I want to ignore Tamamas constant chewing of food... I want to be offended by Kururus sadistic natureI... I... I..."

He curled up and cried harder.

"I-I want my mother!"


	35. Airducts and cobwebs

Some way or another, Dororo managed to get up from the foor, his legs shaking and the note still in his hands.

He kept on calling out for Kururu to stop teasing him and to come out, even though he knew exactly what was going on.

This was no prank.

This was something horrifyingly real.

and the strange, massive footprints...

It was almost a sign, something that only Dororo could understand... Just the foreboding feeling that sorounded them made something click in Dororos mind... He somehow knew exactly what made those tracks.

"Kururu has been taken... He was stolen away... By subject 0..."

Those thoughts made Dororo scream louder, forcing himself to face the reality.

"He was right! Subject 0 is here! And he stole Kururu away from me!"

He threw the note down and punched it "its all because of you! If you hadn't been there I could have saved him! Or... Or... Or we would have been taken together! We would have been close to one another! W-we would have died practically holding hands! But now we both will die alone!"

He grabbed the cover of his katana and threw it at the note, it missed by an inch and bounced off the ground, coming to a rest at the entrance of the hallway that the footprints went down.

Dororo covered his head and hunched over, sobbing loudly. Some way or another, a laugh made its way through and out into the darkness. He slapped his hand over his mouth as he heard it, then squeezed his eyes shut and picked up the note.

"What am I doing?" He thought "Kururu has been kidnapped and I'm just sitting here crying!" He wiped his nose "I... I need to find him!"

He went over to pick up the cover of his katana and looked at the footprints. Then looked to see were they led.

They vanished underneath a door. Dororo went and tried to open it, to find that the door had no doorknob and that the bottem was fused to the ground.

He tried kicking it, but it did nothing. He looked around "I have to get in there!"

He blinked as he saw an air vent, it was a few feet away from the door and near the ceiling.

"Ah, I bet if I go through there, and make my way to the other side of the door, I can come out and into the room that lays behind it!"

He jumped up and knocked the air vents cover loose, and slipped inside "finnaly, something I'm comfortable wi-aaahhhh!"

He stopped when he saw the corpse of a Keronian lodged in the air duct with him. It looked like he had starved to death.

He whimpered and turned, going down a different section of airduct that went away from the door "he's blocking my way for an easy entry of that room... Hopefully this thing loops around..."

He crept along, brushing cobwebs out of his way. "Am I still going the right way? The thing turns but there's no alternet routes... No forks in the road..."

Dororo squirted in the darkness "ah... I think I see one... Lets see... I went to the left of the door... So I go right?"

He shrugged and went right, his knees now aching from being bent for so long "hm? Oh another one... Eh... Right again?" He started to pant "jeez... I can't believe how long this is..."

He soon stopped as he saw a grate next to him "this has got to be it!"

He kicked it, sending it down and into the room below, and he soon followed.

He landed and turned to look, he had landed right in front of the knob less door "ah! I did it! I really did it!"

The grate had been right above the door, and the room was a oddly white color dispute how old the rest of the building looked.

"Hm... It's as if someone just painted this room... It's so... Clean..."

He turned and saw another door, two large cabinets sitting on ether side of it.

He went to it "I don't see anymore footprints... But... He's here... I feel it... Kururu I'm coming!"

He opened the door, and saw something he did not expect.

A long hallway made of stone, one of its walls was a giant mirror. He stepped into it and looked at his reflection. He saw another Dororo, with bags under his eyes and bruises on his knees. A cobweb hanging from his head.

Dororo reached up and brushed the cobweb away, his reflection did the same.

"I look so... Tired... I haven't slept in... How long? Hours?"

He shook his head and walked down the hallway. There was another Door that led to another room.

He took one last look at his reflection before opening the door.


	36. Your trapped

Dororo was startled at what was behind the door.

A room completely painted black. So black that he could not see where the walls were. The only thing he saw was Kururu laying in the center of it.

"KURURU!"

Dororo ran over to him and knelt beside the yellow Keronian "thank goodness! He's just asleep!"

Dororo shook him awake "Kururu! Wake up! We need to go!"

Kururu groaned and raised his head "D-Dororo?"

"It's ok, I'm right here" Dororo hauled him up so he was standing "come on! Start walking we need to go!"

Dororo smiled a bit as Kururu managed to stand up on his own, and he turned to open the door. But the moment Kururu stepped into the hallway with the mirror, he froze and stared at his reflection.

Dororo looked at it as well "he's a mess!"!

this was the first time Dororo ever took the time to look at his friend, he was dirty, bruised, and he looked like he was going to fall asleep at any second, well, he would. Right now as he watched his reflection, he was stiff, shaking and his face showed utter terror.

He suddenly turned and pushed Dororo "go"

"what?" Dororo took a step back from the sudden shove, barely hearing his hoarse whisper.

"Go!"

"W-what are you...?"

"Go! GO!"

"K-Kururu, what's wrong? Why are you so shaken up? It's just a mirror!"

"No..." He whispered and stared at Dororo "it's not a mirror... Dororo... That's glass..."

**_CRACK!_**

Just as he finished speaking, a massive cracking sound came from the glass, making Dororo scream and go the opposite direction, and crash into the wall.

He looked at the mirror, he again saw his and Kururus reflection, but instead of being against the far wall like they were, their reflections were closer... And their hands had risen to be on the glass, and cracks were right where their palms were.

"Wha... Wha..." Dororo sputtered

"GO YOU IDIOT!"

Dororo was brought back from shock by Kururus yell, and he started sprinting for the door. He went through, and when Kururu followed, he started to knock over the cabinets beside the door to block it.

"Kururu! We need to get out through th-aaaAAHHHHHH!"

Kururu turned to see Dororo on his ass and looking up, Kururu followed his gaze and froze as he saw what Dororo was screaming about.

There, in the entrance of the airduct above the door, two black hands had grabbed the frame. The fingers were long and pointy, and the face that rested inbetween them was even more terrifying.

A black body with purple mist sorounding it, blood red eyes glowed bright and stretched wide into perfect circles, and underneath those eyes was a perfect smile lines with teeth much like Kururus. The creature stared at them both, saying nothing, but the way it smiled said it all.

"Your trapped"

Dororo looked at Kururu, who was looking at it. His eyes were wide, his breathing was fast and heavy, and his entire body was shaking. His mouth opened slightly and he whispered something so softly that Dororo almost didn't hear it.

"Subject 0..."


	37. Wtf are these things

It only a second after Kururu said those words when the was another large crack, and the sound of glass shattering.

Kururu and Dororo looked at the door "T-Their out!"

"We need to get out of here!" Dororo cried and tried the knob less door, but it was still fused to the floor.

"How could I be so stupid?" Dororo thought as he kicked the door "this was subject 0's plan all along... He lured me in here with those... Things... Now both me and Kururu are stuck!" He looked up at subject 0 in the air duct "with him in front of the air duct like that... We can't get in there... We can't get out!"

Kururu held the cabinets as the things beyond the door started to bang at the door "we don't have much time!"

Dororo held his head "what do I do?! Think Dororo, THINK!"

He looked up at the door and the air duct, then blinked "wait..."

He pulled out the note he had gotten before and looked at it. The square above the picture of the door has mysteriously been scratched out, and a smiley face had been drawn in red ink over it. He looked at the rest of the white room and saw it matched the picture exactly.

"This is a map of the room!" He looked at the arrows and the numbers in the center.

"The only thing missing is that square in the center..." He frowned, then he blinked.

"Arrows... Numbers..."

He looked at the arrow and the number nearest to the door

left, 2

he went left two steps

right, 5

He went right 5 steps

he kept on doing this, going left and right several times.

Kururu looked at him "what are you..."

He was inturuped by a sudden click underneath Dororos foot as he did the last one.

Dororo squeaked and jumped away as part of the floor slid away, revealing a ladder leading downward into darkness.

"Y-yes!" Dororo cried and looked at Kururu "come on!"

"You go first!" Kururu yelled as the pounding on the door grew more intense "I'll be right behind you!"

Dororo nodded and started down. The ladder was a bit longer then he expected, so it was a very long climb. The ladder was wet and slipperly, he gasped as his foot slipped and he almost fell.

He clung to the ladder and looked up "K-Kururu?"

"Kuku, I'm coming! Don't stop!"

Dororo kept on going down, and he soon heard a massive crash and a horrid screech that sounded unnatural.

"They got out..."

Dororo felt a massive sense of relief as his foot touched solid ground. He stepped back from the ladder and saw that he was in a hallway with walls and floors and ceilings of steel. A six pointed star was engraved in the floor ever 50 feet or so.

he took Kururus orders and started running, he could see two doors on a dead end, one on each side. He was about to go though one when he heard something by the ladder. He turned back to see Kururu jumping down from the last rung "oh that goodne-"

the entire hallway began shaking, he fell over and looked around "a-an earthquake? Now?!" He covered his head "o-oh god!"

Suddenly part of the ground rose up, splitting the hallway in two. Dororo screamed and jumped away. The earthquake soon ceased, and Dororo was now staring at a massive wall "k-Kururu?!"

"Kuku! I'm ok!"

Dororo groaned with relief "thank god..."

"Dororo, keep going! I'll meet up with you later!"

"Alright! Be careful!"

With that, Dororo turned and went through the door, and out into another metal hallway with even more six pointed stars on the floor.

Dororo began running, and soon he found himself in a even bigger hallway. He stopped for a breather "I wonder where Kururu is..."

He froze as he heard something behind him. He turned around "K-Kuru-"

he stopped dead as he saw what was before him. It was about 2 feet tall, with a long slender figure, cat like limbs and a slick, long tail.

It was blue, it had light blue eyes, wore a white and grey hat, it had a grey mask, it had a white belly, and a four pointed star on its chest and hat.

Just like Dororo.

He took a step back from the weird creature. It began creeping towards him, it's face suddenly splitting in half, showing gagged lips and a long, snakey tounge. The mask it had was still there, but rather then wearing it, it looked like it was PART of it, so it split as well.

"o-oh my god..." Dororo squeaked. He then screamed and started to run away. The creature let out a loud screech and Dororo could hear its weird ass feet repetivly hit the ground, and to his horror, they were getting louder and louder, closer and closer.

Dororo rounded a corner, the creature skidded along the ground, smashing into the wall, then continued to chase him.

"Ohgodohgodohgod!" Dororo thought as he burst through a door and out into a large room. He gasped with relief as he saw Kururu. He was standing at the opposite end of the room.

Dororo ran over to him "Run Kururu! Ru-"

Kururu suddenly grabbed him and threw him off to the side. Dororo gasped and hit the ground with a thud "o-ow!"

He heard the monster slid once more, screaming as it did, and there was suddenly a loud crash and a bang.

Dororo looked up to see Kururu holding down a lever attached to a large metal hatch.

He was panting as he looked at Dororo "incinerator... Pretty strong one... He won't be getting out anytime soon" he wiped sweat from his face "wh-where's the other one?"

"Huh? Other one?"

kururu froze "it wasn't chasing you?"

"Uh... No..."

Suddenly there was a flash of black behind Kururu, for a second Dororo thought he saw subject 0's face, but it was gone in a second. But the incinerator started to make a noise.

Dororo gasped as the creature inside the incinerator started screaming, and a light was flashing on and off on the hatch "K-Kururu?!"

"The incinerator just turned on!" He gasped "that things getting burned alive!"

There was suddenly another roar, much louder then the one getting burned.

Kururu froze "the other one is coming!" He yelled "run!"

He grabbed Dororos hand and started running. Dororo didn't look back as he was whisked away.

"Wh- what just happened?"

"That incinerator was turned on by something, something that wanted to lure the big one over here by making its partner make alot of noise!"

"The... Big one?"

Suddenly there was a massive crash, and the roaring started up again. "Shit! Hurry!"

Kururu dragged Dororo into a room and shut the door behind them.

Kururu let go of Dororos hand and looked at him "look, you need to run, run far away, right now"

"K-Kururu?"

"Just trust me... Look" he pointed at a staircase that went upward "run up those stairs... Right now... Do you hear me?"

"I..."

"Go! Now!" He pushed Dororo towards the stairs "just go!"

Dororo whimpered and ran up the stairs, leaving Kururu behind.


	38. Burn!

Kururu watched Dororo run up the stairs, then turned and went back out into the hallway.

He slowly crept back over to the incinorator to find that the hatch had been wretched off and spot everywhere "that thing must be strong..." He thought as he went over to it.

He reached in and brushed the soot away, finding that part of the incinorators floor had been yanked out along with the hatch. He reached into the machinery and yanked out a metal container, the incinorators fuel.

He looked into it, nearly full. He froze when he heard something. It was as if something had bumped into the wall. He grabbed the container and ran away "that big one is so clumsy... I can always hear it coming... But the small one... At least it can't stop when it gets going"

Kururu snuck around, going the opposite direction of every noise. They seemed to be communicating through quite chirps and screeches. Kururu frowned as he got a glimpse of the big one lumbering around a corner.

It was massive, having to duck to walk even the halls. It's hands dragging across the floor. Kururu ran the opposite direction and into a room.

He looked around "kukukuu... A lab... Perfect..." He started sorting through the massive amounts of tools and other things that littered the lab, he grabbed a spray can full of cleaner and a lighter. Crossing his fingers, he flicked it on. Luckily it worked

Kururu jabbed a big hole into the bottom of the can, and dumped all of the cleaner out, then with a syringe, he started filling up the now empty spray can with the incinorators fuel. He then went to a gas pump and filled the remainer of the can with gas and plugged the botten of it with a sticky kind of seal.

Kururu looked at the door, then crept toward it, lighter and spray can ready. he grabbed the door knob and opened it. Sure enough, the small one was right in his face, looking burnt and covered it soot.

As it screeched and lunged at him, Kururu raised the lighter in front of the spray can and turned them both on.

A piller of fire shot out of the can, and right into the creatures face. It screeched and jumped back, and began rubbing its face with its front legs.

Kururu sprinted away, and back to the stairs. He could already hear the big one coming, roaring and crashing into everything. Right as he reached the stairs, it crashed through the wall. Like the small one, it showed all the fetures of him. Yellow with spiral eyes and a orange hat with headphones.

"Kuku! Eat fire asshole!" He raised up the can and sprayed some more fire into its face. It roared and attempted to grab him with his freaky human like hands. Kururu dodged and ran up the stairs. He could hear both of the creatures now, they were coming up after him.

He burst out of the staircase and recognized the mueseum from before. And to his dismay, Dororo was apparently waiting for him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I TOLD YOU TO RUN!" Kururu yelled as he turned and sprayed fire at the small one, which had come up first.

"And leave you?! No way!" Dororo growled and grabbed a loose board. He threw it at the big one, it hit it in the head, making it yell.

"Your so stupid!" Kururu snapped and went crazy with the fire, burning both creatures badly, the big one soon groaned and fell back, falling down the stairs and as it hit the bottem, creating a massive hole which it fell through. Into deep darkness.

The small one whined and took a step toward the hole, then turned back and lunged at Dororo.

Dororo screamed and kicked it in its narrow chest with both of his feet, it screamed as it was flung back and down the stairs as well, and down into the hole.

However, the fire Kururu had used was now smoldering the ceiling, and that soon fell, right into the hole as well. Dororo and Kururu exchanged looks, then Kururu suddenly threw the can at Dororo "YOU IDIOT!"

Dororo squealed and dodged it as he continued "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA... OF HOW MUCH DANGER YOU WERE IN?!"

Dororo froze "I-I..."

Kururu grabbed his head "YOUR SUCH A MORON! UGH!" Kururu shook his head wildly "FIRST YOU JUMP IN FROMT OF AMARIA... THEN YOU ALMOST GET EATEN... THEN YOU ALMOST FELL THROUGH THE FLOOR... THEN YOU HAVE TO GO AND PUT BOTH OF US IN DANGER WHEN YOU COULD HAVE SAVED YOURSELF AND RUN AWAY... THEN YOU STAY! YOU STAY! YOU STAY IN THE SAME SPOT! YOU INGORE MY ADVICE AND WHAT HAPPENS? YOU ALMOST JUST GOT KILLED!"

Dororo stared at Kururu in shock as he screamed at him, spitting and cussing with his hands waving around. He had never gotten so angry before.

"I HATE YOU! IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!"

He collapsed to the floor, his entire body shaking and his breath coming and going quickly.

Dororo scooted away from him, his friends apparent mental breakdown had been terrifying. Kururu looked at him, the bags under his eyes were darker then usual "why? Why are you so... So vulnerable?"

Dororo scooted back even more, afraid of another outburst. When he did, his hand brushed up against something. He looked down to see his hand up against a peice if paper. He picked it up and looked at it.

_"They mated._

_We had no idea they had reproductive organs, we never got that far_

_in fact, we had no idea that they had even mated until the babies came._

_Subject 1 just... Crawled into subject 2's mouth, and we could see it moving around in there... Then it came out and they were more close then ever before after that. About 3 weeks later, subject 2 just started wailing and screeching, I tried to comfort it along with subject 1, and after a while it relaxed and calmed down... And it's stomach looked bigger. Then, 2 weeks later, it started coughing up these white babies! Little versions of themselves just came out!_

_It took a while for me to get close, but when I did they were old enough to walk and play! They were adoreable! I grew so attached that I practically lived in there..._

_They had eight of em, all of them fuzzy and playful..._

_..._

_...then it happened._

_subject 0 broke out again... This time it changed form into a gas and went through the air ducts and into their area._

_I could hear them screeching, I was in the security room at the time... I could not see them through the cameras, for each and every single camera had subject 0's face looking into it. That smile, those eyes, it made me so uneasy and so fearful for my new family._

_Soon the face disappeared and I immediately went down there, and I found that subject 1 was dead, and subject 2 was barely hanging onto life._

_I went over to it and cried, I cried so hard and hugged its head to my chest as it finally died, they were curled up against each other, subject 2 holding subject 1's much smaller body against its own..._

_I thought the babies had been taken by subject 0 until I noticed subject 2's stomach moving. I didn't think and just pulled out a knife and started cutting. And out came eight fuzzy bundles of life. Subject 2 had swallowed them to protect them from subject 0._

_I tried my best to shield them from their parents bodies, and soon I just grabbed them all and ran out sobbing._

_Soon after, subjects 1 and 2's bodies had mysteriously vanished, and subject 0 was never seen again._

_The ***** demanded that the babies were to be taken to their main base for protection. I begged to go with them because I loved them, and they agreed. I leave today and I will never look back. These were more then subject, they were the only family I had left. I will give them real names and treat them like subjects 2 and 1 did._

_I just hope that they remember what wonderful parents they had..."_

Dororo crumpled up the note and threw it away, a sob leaving his throat. He now knew, he knew what those things were.

"Subject 0... Had taken subjects 1and 2's bodies and spirits... Put them here... And let them kill... Angry they their children were not where they left them, angry that they couldn't find them..."

Dororo covered his eyes and continued to cry "those things were subjects 1 and 2..."


	39. Lies

Kururu put his head against his knees, he to knew the horrid truth. He knew the moment he stepped foot in front of that mirror...

"Two beautiful creatures... Dead and abandoned by their killer in hell... And I tossed them down a pit!"

Kururu looked at Dororo, who was shaking and crying "the little... Bitch... This is his fault! If he had just left I would have found another way to contain them!"

He stood up "you... You think this is a game!? I'm the smart one! Your just some stupid ninja! I know the right thing to do and how to do it but you just ignore me!"

Dororo shrank away and looked down "I-I wanted to help..."

"HELP?!" Kururu yelled "HELP?! YOU DIDN'T HELP! YOU MADE IT WORSE!"

He raised his hand to his mouth and let out a violently loud series of ku's, startling Dororo so much he yelped and jumped away.

That horrid laugh continued, and Dororo just kept on staring at him "Kururu... Why?"

Dororo thought. He blinked and looked at his face.

"He looks angry... But there is something else... Is it... Fear? No... Sadness?"

Dororo froze as he realized what it was...

"...guilt..."

Suddenly, pictures flashed through Dororos mind. A noose, frightening theory's, an argument, a slap, some insults, the willingness to stay behind and the expectancy for someone to never return to see... To see...

Dororo let out a choked sob as he realized the truth, the truth that Kururu wanted forever hidden.

Kururu stopped laughing when he saw Dororo stand, his legs shaking and his hands clenched... His face showed... Anger...

Kururu frowned with confusion as Dororo looked at him with an accusing look, tears streaming down in face "you... Lier!" He yelled "do you think I'm that stupid?!"

Kururu bit his lip "wha-"

"you said you blacked out, yes?!" Dororo growled "when I found you in that noose, you said you didn't remember anything... But if you were insane you would remember!"

"Dororo I-"

"I remember! I remember it all now! I remember me and Keroro... I-I was gonna kill him! Giroro tricked me into the closet! I remember yelling and yelling..." He gritted his teeth "yet you lied and said you didn't!"

Kururu frowned as he continued.

"You've been trying to drive me away! Trying to make me leave... I would ask why, but now I do!"

"You love pain! You love it so much you want to feel it forever! So when you read that note, when you saw that pain here lasted forever, you wanted to kill yourself! Yes, you hung yourself on PURPOSE!"

a heavy silence greeted his words. Kururu stared at him with a blank face, while Dororo was giving him a look of anger and betrayal "and you lied" Dororo choked out "you lied... Right to my face... Why didn't you tell me? Is it because I would have stayed close and made sure you didn't try again? Your right, I would have..."

Dororo started to cry "b-but your my friend... Friends don't lie to each other! I... I... I..."

Dororo took and step back and held his head "I-I'M SICK OF BEING LIED TO!"

With that he turned and started to run away, down the hall and around a corner, his footsteps fading, and Kururu could only stare at him as he did so, silent and still.


	40. Blood

Kururu kept on staring down the hall, Dororos words still ringing in his head. The accusing tone in his voice... Everything he had said...

Was not wrong at all...

Kururu laughed and raised his hand to his mouth "Kukukukukukuuuuu! Oh what a clever boy! At least he's gone now!" He spun on his heels and walked away "kuku~ now to find some rope-"

he was interrupted by a scream and a sickening thud that made him stop in his tracks. He turned back to the hallway "D...Dororo?"

It had sounded awfully like him, a girlish scream with a hint of man in it...

Kururu took a step forward " ku... Wait... What am I doing? This is my chance... But..."

Kururu cussed and ran after him. He rounded around the corner and skidded to a halt.

There was a splatter of blood on the ground, not big, but noticeable... Kururu looked at it "its... Fresh..." He looked down the hall. A trail of it... Possibly leading to Dororo?

"Could this really be Dororos blood? There's not enough for him to bleed out anytime soon but..."

He frowned and started following the trail. Soon he passed by a broken tank full of black water "this... Is where he made my bandage..." Kururu thought.

His stomach lurched as he realized where he was, he raised a hand to his bandage which was still intact "no... Oh no..."

He ran by the blood, it seemed to be decreasing in size meaning Dororos life was not in danger from blood loss... But if he was going where Kururu thought he was going...

Kururu ran as fast as he could "nonononononononono..."

He fell to his knees when he saw the trail end.

"no..."

The blood made a turn...

And vanished into a door...

A metal door...

That was open...

Kururu held his head "no... Oh no... Dororo..."

He covered his mouth and groaned, shaking slightly.

"He's going to be... No... I can't let this happen..."

Kururu looked at his hand to see that the lighter was still there, the spray can long gone.

He flicked it on and approached the door.

"I don't care anymore... He can die here... But not like this..."

He looked it, compleatly dark and it stank of blood.

He took a step it to find that the ground was a bit lower then expected. And he fell forward onto his hands and knees into a knee deep lake of blood.

Kururu cried out and managed to keep the lighter from getting wet. He muttered something and started wadding through the blood, the lighter out in front of him.

He didn't dare call out and just kept going. Through the light of the lighter, he saw something blue and grey floating in the blood "Is that him?"

Kururu crept forward "D-Dororo?"

When he got a foot from it, he gasped.

"S-Subject 1?"

The mangled corpse of subject 1 was floating in the blood in front of him, still showing features of Dororo. His blue eyes staring at him.

This was different however, he knew subject 1's spirit was still there, he knew it was in control of its body, but the reason it could not move was the way it was mangled, but it's eyes said everything.

"Run away, it's a trap"

the reason why it decided to help Kururu instead of trying to kill him was unknown, but Kururu didn't wonder why and was just about to turn and leave when the lighter went out.

"S-shit!" Kururu tried to turn it back on... But he stopped as he heard something behind him.

He turned, and the last thing he saw before everything going black, was a pair of yellow eyes, and a giant club going toward his head...


	41. In a cage

Dororo groaned, his whole body aching and his head spinning "wh...what happened...?"

He raised his head and opened his eyes to see bars in front of him. He slowly reached out and grabbed them. "Am I... In a cage?" He blinked and shifted around, feeling cramped. He was curled up with his knees against his chest and the cage he was in was tiny, and it rocked back and forth ever so slightly.

"This... Looks like a bird cage..." He thought and looked around, and to his horror, he saw something he recognized right beside him "k-Kururu!" He cried as he watched the Yellow Keronian who was in a cage of his own. He was very much awake, and his head rested on his knees.

His anger towards his friend seemed like a dream now, concern overpowered confusion and he called out his companions name again.

Kururu looked at him with tired eyes "D...Dororo..."

"Kururu? Are you ok?"

"Dororo..." He coughed and held his head, placing his forehead on his knees "please... I-if you want to keep whatever's left of your sanity... Please... Don't look up..."

Dororo blinked "wh-what?"

Kururu didn't respond and just groaned. Dororo looked away "why? What's above me?"

He suddenly felt something drip against his head, and he realized that he was very wet.

He rubbed his head and then brought it down to his face do he could see the liquid that was soaking him. He gasped as he saw the redness of blood on his fingers. Slowly, he looked up.

Above him was the corpse of a female Keronian, her entire body ripped open and every organ taken. The only thing left of her was meat and blood, which was dripping onto him.

He covered his mouth and looked away "you idiot..." Kururu growled "I told you not to look up..."

Dororo held his head "what's going on?!" He cried "where are we?!"

"It's a cafiteria, it's a kitchen"

Dororo blinked as Kururu began speaking, as if speaking out a memory.

"Fear the metal door, fear it fear it fear it fear it fear it, it's a slaughter house, don't go it, only fear it"

Dororo gasped as he recalled those words, the words written in blood outside of a metal door "o-oh no... Oh god no..." He hugged his knees "we're beyond the metal door... We're in the slaughter house!"

He tried kicking the cage, trying to get out, yet it didn't help, and the cage just started swinging back and forth.

Dororo started crying "we're going to get eaten! No! I don't want that!"

Dororo screamed and punched the bars of his cage, bruising his knuckles and making them bleed slightly.

He held his hand and cried, leaning against the back of his cage.

After a while he fell silent, he was tired and cold, his body falling asleep. But he ingored the pins and neetles and just sat there.

"I haven't eaten in hours..." He thought as his stomach growled "I skipped breakfast this morning... I wanted to stay light for training... Koyuki offered me a rice ball..." He closed his eyes "Koyuki... How are you fairing? Did Zeroyasha come by and ask if I was their to play ball? Did you do help a baby sparrow back into its nest like yesterday?"

He found himself relaxing, his breath slowing down to a normal pace "or... Did Natsumi invite you over for a slumber party? Did you leave a note on my mat telling me where you were? Are you having fun, Koyuki?"

He heard a loud clang, and Kururu growling, but it seemed distant "are you showing Natsumi the bead necklace you made? Maybe Fuyuki and Momaka just joined you... Maybe Saburo to? Are you playing a game now? Try 'guestires' or something..."

"NO!" Kururu yelled as Dororo heard the latch to his cage pop open.

"Maybe mama Aki came home tonight... She makes some really good ramen... Maybe that's what she'll give you, Koyuki..."

What felt like a massive hand grabbed him by the foot and yanked him out. He could feel himself swinging side to side as he was carried away, upside down and one leg free to hang to the side.

"Maybe in the morning you'll stay till lunch... You'll probably go to the mall with Natsumi, right? Try out those insect candies for me, will you... The red one please..."

He felt himself being dropped onto what felt like a wooden table, rolled onto his back and strapped down.

"Or... Or are you in here to, Koyuki? Did someone trick you too? Oh Koyuki, if that's so, you must be scared... And worried... About Natsumi... Your such a good friend to her..."

He opened his eyes to see a large, massive figure towering over him, it looked like a Keronian, but with a Pekopon like body. Massive dreadlocks hung in front of his face, and from an upward veiw Dororo could see two pale yellow eyes staring back at him.

As the figure left, he could see something pinned to the wall next to him "a diary entry? Here? It's so close I can read it..."

_"dear diary... I'm eighteen... And I've been so bad... My bodyguard and I were talking... He was so sweet... So kind... And... Soon I was in bed with him, my virginity taken by his charming, wonderful man. I love him, I love him so much... It makes it even harder for me to leave. But I have to... I can take my diary with me, and I leave next morning... But I will never stop loving you ******" _

Dororo smiled a bit "look Kururu, you were right... They did have sex... Imagine that..."

He lost his smile soon though "but... I won't be able to tell you... I'll be dead before then..."

He closed his eyes again "but... If Koyuki is here... Then I promise... Oh I sware on my death... That the moment I die... My spirit will look for you... It will guide you..."

The figure came back, this time with a massive hammer.

"Maybe he will kill me quickly... And painlessly... That would be nice... That way I wouldn't be distracted by pain while guiding you through this place... And maybe... Maybe you'll find my bones after this man eats the meat off them... God knows what he'll do them... Maybe he'll use them as instruments... Or maybe he'll make them into a chair... Mabye he'll use one of my ribs as a toothpick... Or maybe... Maybe he'll dump my bones someplace and forget about them... But... Koyuki... I just ask one thing of you... If you get out of here..."

the figure raised the hammer above his head.

"please... Tell my mother... I said hi..."


	42. Cornered

WHAM!

Dororo stirred a bit "huh?"

WHAM!

"What's going on? I don't feel anything..."

WHAM WHAM WHAM!

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

Dororo opened his eyes to see Kururu on the figures shoulders, beating its head with a thick stick.

The figure yelled and tried to get him off, knocking into the table and sending a bunch of bloody tools flying.

Dororo gasped, coming back to reality and starting to struggle against his bindings "what am I doing? I can't give up like this!"

He yelled and managed to break free of one of the leather straps that held him down. And squeaked as the cannibal crashed into the table again, Kururu was showing no mercy, knocking the cannibal senseless until it finnaly collapsed.

He then jumped over him and began prying the straps off of Dororo "come on! Lets go!" He snapped. Dororo was just about to jump down and start running when something caught his eye. His mouth fell open with shock as he saw a sword on the wall.

His sword.

He grabbed it and looked at it. He still in fact had the cover. He pulled it out and put them together.

"H-how...?"

"DORORO!"

Dororo gasped and ran after Kururu, just as the cannibal was stirring.

They burst out of the room and jumped into the lake of blood, wadding across it to get to the exit. Dororo squeaked as the canibal roared and jumped in after them "h-he's coming!"

"Don't stop!" Kururu reached the door first and kicked it open, then pulled Dororo out and closed it behind them.

He looked at the katana in Dororos hands then continued running "I'm not even gonna ask!"

Dororo groaned and ran with him, his legs still asleep.

Just seconds later, The cannibal was right behind them.

Kururu and Dororo rounded a corner, and ran right into a dead end.

"Shit!" Kururu looked back to see the cannibal standing there, now that he could get a good look at it he was greatly disturbed. It was as if a Pekoponian and a Keronian had a baby together, grey teal with black dreadlocks that almost compleatly covered his face.

Dororo shuddered and looked at Kururu "wh-what now?"

"The guys big... We can get by him if we use some fancy footwork.."

Dororo nodded and closed his eyes "I'm a ninja... I can do this..."

"NOW!"

Kururu went one way while Dororo went the other, the cannibal yelled and reached for Dororo, why yelped and vanished. Confused, the cannibal looked back to see Dororo along with Kururu running away...

Exept there was now no where to run.

The hallway they had just gone down had vanished, leaving a blank wall.

Dororo gasped "wh-what?"

Kururu cussed and looked back at the cannibal, who had started laughing "we're trapped..."

Dororo clutched his katana to his chest "oh... God..."

The cannibal slowly began to walk toward them. His meaty hands outstretched.

Dororo suddenly jumped out in front of Kururu "n-no! NO! You don't go near him! You leave him alone!" Dororo pulled the cover off the katana "or I'll... I'll... I'll..."

his eyes suddenly went wild "I WILL KILL YOU!"

He suddenly threw the katana like a spear at him, the cannibal yelled as it punctured his chest, and the last thing Dororo saw was blood.


	43. Mad father reference

Giroro looked back at Tamama "are you ok?"

Tamama looked at him "uh... Yea... My feet hurt..."

Giroro sighed and looked down the hall "no new doors to explore... This... Oh, never mind..." Giroro looked back at Tamama and pointed at a new door "lets go in here, ok?"

"Y-yea... Sure..." Tamama shuddered "I'm ok with that..."

Giroro grabbed the door knob "ngh... Jammed... There!" He pushed it opened, then gasped "j-Jesus! What the hell?!"

"What is it?"

"I-it's... Creepy!" He sputtered and stepped back to let Tamama see.

Tamama looked in and squeaked, many, many dolls were lined up on shelves... And they all looked real.

"I-I really don't wanna go in there..." Tamama scooted away from the door.

"Same here... Lets go-"

He was cut off by some sort of revving sound, and what sounded like a chainsaw starting "uh... Tamama?"

"Giroro?"

Giroro looked at Tamama "um... Does that sound like a chainsaw to you?"

"Uh... Yea..."

L-lets go... Like... Right now..."

"I couldn't agree more..." Tamama and Giroro both sprinted away from the door, they went around a corner, but footsteps seemed to be coming from behind "Giroro?! Someone's following us!" Tamama squeaked.

"Keep running!" Giroro snapped and went through a door "in here!"

Tamama ran in with him and Giroro closed the door "ok... I think we-"

he suddenly yelled as a bright light flashed in front of his face, Tamama squealed to and clung to Giroro. He squinted his eyes against the light to see a match in front of his face.

Giroro looked past it to see the face of a man, with brown hair and broken glasses, knifes deeply imbedded in his head, and his body dressed up with a lab coat and a good splatter of blood. Tamama screamed and Giroro pulled Tamama away, he noticed a chainsaw in the mans hand, now off and pointed at them.

"Your... Perfect..." The man cackled and directed his dead gaze to Tamama "your friend is to old though..."

"O-OI! I'm not old! I'm only 24!" Giroro snapped and tried the door, and his eyes widened as it wouldn't open.

"Tsk, what a shame..." The man laughed and tried to grab Tamama.

Tamama screamed and jumped away "d-don't touch me!"

Giroro shoved his hand away and grabbed Tamama by the arm "and we will be going now!"

Giroro pulled Tamama away, he could hear the man getting up and walking behind then oh so calmly "oh it's such a bother when they run... Oh well... I'll make you perfect yet!" He started up the chainsaw and continued after them.

They ran around the room, looking for another door yet the only exit was the one they come through.

Giroro constantly tried it many times as they past it, however, the man continued to follow them calmly, his eyes wide and a crazed smile on his face. Forcing them along "G-Giroro?! What do we do?!" Tamama cried.

"I-I don't know..."

"Now this is getting old..." The man laughed and suddenly charged at them.

They screamed and jumped away, the man couldn't stop until the chainsaw was in the wall, buzzing away like crazy against the wood.

The man snarled and ripped it out, taking out a big chunk of wall and revealing another hallway.

Giroro gasped and jumped through it while the man was distracted, dragging Tamama with him.

"Oh no you don't!" The man cackeled and ran after them.

giroro and Tamama rounded a corner, hitting a dead end "s- shit! Fuck!" Giroro pounded his fist against the wall.

"ohhh, that's to bad!"

Giroro looked back to see the man, approaching them slowly "noew then... Maybe a good cut on your leg... That will keep you still!"

"N-no! Wait!"

The man raised the chainsaw above his head "nyahahahahahahahaha!"

"N-No! NO!"

Tamama cried as he felt the splatter of blood on his face, thinking Giroro had been cut, but blinked as he realized that he wasn't screaming in pain.

He looked up and gasped. The man had stilled, his eyes still wide, but now something was embedded in his chest.

Tamama covered his mouth as he recognized the object "n-no... That couldn't be..."


	44. Reunion

Dororo woke up on the floor, covered in blood "wh-what just happened?"

He looked up to see the cannibal, a hole in his chest and blood everywhere.

He whimpered "d-did I... Do that?"

Kururu was standing beside it, looking at the wound "nice throw..."

Dororo winced "how can you say that? I... I just killed someone!"

"Someone who has killed many, many people... He deserved it"

"no..." Dororo frowned "no one deserves to die here"

Kururu, looked at him, then reached his hand into the cannibals wound.

"Wha- EWWW! What the heck Kururu?! Take your hand out of there that's disgusting!"

"Kuku... It's gone..."

"Huh?"

"Your sword, it's gone"

"how?"

Kururu looked at the wall "uh... Ku..."

"wha-" Dororo stopped as he saw what Kururu saw "wh-what the fuck?"

...

Giroro yanked the object out of the mans chest after he fell over "wha- this is... Dororos katana!"

"Wait... Didn't I have that?"

"I think I dropped it when we were dealing with the spider..."

"But where did it...?"

Giroro looked behind them and gasped "h-holy fuck..."

...

Dororo looked at Kururu "Is that...?"

"Kukukuuu... Yup..."

"But that's just a..."

"I know..."

...

"G-Giroro...?"

"Y-yes?"

"Isn't that just a... Mirror?"

"I... Don't think so..."

Standing in front of Giroro and Tamama was a massive mirror, and instead of seeing themselves, they saw two very different figures.

...

Kururu and Dororo aslo stood in front of a big mirror.

"L-look! Their mouths are moving!"

"Kukukuuu... I don't hear them them though..."

"Maybe it's not a mirror... Maybe it's glass..."

"Whatever it is, it wasn't here before"

...

"C-can't this place get enough?!" Giroro looked at Tamama "forcing my mind into a dead body was bad enough... But now?"

"H-how is these even possible? Hey, they look like their in a different building too..."

"Huh... And the sword came from there..."

...

"I think the sword went strait through that cannibal and went through this thing..."

"What makes you think so?"

"Are you blind? He's bloody HOLDING it!"

"Ah, right... Sorry..."

...

Giroro looked at the katana "this thing super bloody... Even the handle..."

"D-do you think it... Came through the mirror?"

"Uh... Then where's the hole?"

"Maybe it didn't need a hole... Maybe it's a portal..."

"If it was a portal, wouldn't we be hearing them right now?

Tamama shrugged.

...

"Kukuu... Maybe it's a portal of some kind..."

"Uh... If that was true, why can't we hear them?"

Kururu shrugged and kicked it.

...

Giroro yelled as a yellow foot shot out of the mirror and kicked him in the groin. Tamama gasped and jumped away, his eyes wide.

...

Dororo yelled as he saw Kururus foot go through it "h-holy shit! I-it is a portal! A-a sound proof portal!"

"Kuku! I hit him to, look at that!"

"Aw, K-Kururu you made him cry!"

...

"G-Giroro!" Tamama cried as Giroro rolled around on the ground, holding his crotch "ngh! Th-that fucking hurt man!"

...

"Wait... That means that's them! That's really them! Oh thank god we found them!"

"Ku! Wait!"

To late, Dororo had already jumped into it.

...

"WHAGGHH!"

Tamama screamed as something blue suddenly shot out of the portal and crashed into him, knocking him down.

He gasped as he looked up at the thing that tackled him "D-Dororo!"

"Oh my god! Tamama!" Dororo cried "it's you! It's really you!"

Giroro looked at his old child hood friend "whoa... How?"

"Giroro! Uh... Oh... Right.. Sorry about Kururu kicking you like that..."

"Kukukuu... My bad..." Kururu suddenly hopped out as well.

"K-Kururu you asshole!" Giroro stood up.

"Kukukuuu!" Kururu laughed.

"I-I can't believe it... We found each other!" Dororos happy face suddenly turned scared "d-did... Keroro... Follow you?"

Tamama stiffened "he wasn't with you?"

"he's crazy! Why would we let him try to attack us?"

"Uh... Oh, right... We got some things to tell you..."


	45. Alone

Keroro groaned and opened his eyes "ugh... Owww... My... Head..."

He groaned and sat up, his vision hazy "wh-where... Am I?" He rubbed his head and squinted his eyes "hey... Where is everyone?"

He quickly stood up from his place on the ground and looked around "Guys? Wh-where are you?"

Silence met his words. He gulped and started walking "yelllooo? Tamama? G-Giroro?" He squeaked as a peice of floor creaked under his foot, he hopped away from it "Kururu? Dororo? Someone please answer me!"

He shuddered and rubbed his shoulders "damn... It's so... Cold..."

He stumbled through the hallways of the hospital "what even happened? Did I fall asleep? Did... Did everyone leave me?"

Keroro winced "are they... Naw... They can't be... Can they?"

He yelped and turned around as he felt someone watching him "h-hello?!"

Silence...

He gulped "wh-who's there... Eh?"

He saw a figure in the shadows, compleatly hidden by darkness, yet he could see it moving "u-uh... Who are you?"

He could tell that the figure turned and started walking away "h-hey! Where are you going? Don't worry, I won't hurt ya..." He went after it. He got close enough to it to see a bit of light blue, but then as soon as he did, the ground began rumble.

He cried out and fell over "eeeeek!" He screeched and covered his head as the earthquake grew violently rough.

Then all was still...

Keroro coughed and looked up to see that the figure was now gone "d-dang it!"

Just as he stood up, he heard a loud crack.

"E-eh?"

Suddenly the ground beneath him fell away, Keroro screamed and reached out to grab something to hold onto, but failed and fell down along with the floor.

His scream was silenced as he suddenly hit water, he thrashed around, part of his hat snagged on some debris that was pulling him down.

He let out an underwater yell and ripped his hat free and started swimming up to the surface.

He grabbed at the air as he broke out of the water, gasping and sputtering. He looked around, panting hard "j-Jesus... Where did all this water come from?"

He rubbed water out of his eyes and started swimming to a floating price of wood. He hauled himself onto it and laid down, his chest aching "the fuck just happened...?"

Keroro sat up and looked around, he was in what looked like a flooded basement "OI... That... That really woke me up!" He shook his head "w-whew!"

He looked around again to see a door up on a ledge against the wall "strange... Oh well, better just go with it."

Keroro started using the piece of wood as a boat, paddling at the water and moving it forward until it reached the door. Keroro then opened the door and jumped through.

He blinked as he landed ungracefully into a dimly lit room, candles in the center. He gasped as he noticed a little girl sitting there, something in her hands.

She was blond, and no more then six. She turned to look at Keroro, showing pale blue eyes "hi"

"uh... Hi?" Keroro looked around, noticing massive piles of wooden statues no bigger then his pinky finger. He shuddered as he saw what gruesome scenes they displayed, people without eyes, mouths stitched closed and tongues in people's hands.

Keroro looked away and at the girl "wh-who are you?"

"Me? I'm the Dollmaker" she smiled "why don't you sit down?"

"Uh... I rather not..." He blinked as he saw that the girl was holding a single statue and a pocket knife. Even though she was giving him her undivided attention, her hands worked away at the doll without hesitation, the knife cutting away unwanted pieces of wood.

"Uh... Should you be doing that without... Looking?"

"Oh, I'm fine... It's not me doing this anyway"

"uh... What?"

"my hands belong to the void, the rest of me belongs to me..."

"Okaaayyy..." Keroro frowned "uh... So... What kind of name is 'Dollmaker' anyway?"

"It's because I make toys... Statues... Statues of victims, my statues keep a record of everyone here, and their current state..."

"Eh... Explains alot... Wait... Everyone?" Keroro blinked "uh... Do you by chance have... Uh..."

"Five Keronians who entered at the same time and are now lost in the void?"

"Huh?"

"Green black red yellow blue!" She sang "right here!" He gestured to the candles, and next to them lay five tiny statues "w-whoa..." Keroro crouched down to look at them "their so detail-" he stopped as he picked up Kururus, and saw a rope around his neck "w-wait..."

Suddenly the rope vanished, making Keroro gasp and drop it "yeeek!"

Dollmaker smiled "your friends can't be killed easily it seems... Not with friends about..."

"Uh... Sure..." Keroro looked at her "uh... By the way... Why are they here... And not in the corners like the rest of em?"

"I don't know, my hands put them out them there..." She frowned "but I would be careful, it could mean something..."

"Like... What?"

She shrugged "dunno!"

Keroro sighed and stood up "o-ok..." He looked around to see that one corner was empty, and no light was touching it.

He blinked as he saw a lone statue over there, facing the corner and covered in shadow "hey, who's is that..." He took a step toward it.

He was suddenly thrown back by an invisible force of some kind, making him yell and fall down.

Dollmaker sighed "you can't look at that statue... He forbids it..."

"Wha... Who?"

Dollmaker frowned and closed her eyes "you need to go, right now... There's a door over there, it leads you to the 9th floor of the hospital..."

"Uh..." Keroro looked at a door that was against the wall "thanks?"

Dollmaker suddenly jolted and looked at him with wide eyes "wait... Do you see a shred of cloth by my knees?"

"Um... Yeah...?"

"He says you need to wrap that statue up with it"

"wha- make up your mind, at first I'm forbidden... Then I'm aloud..."

"JUST DO IT!" Dollmaker suddenly yelled, making Keroro jump "you can get close as long as you have the clear intention to not look at it, wrap it up and keep it, if you try to look, you will freeze in place until you promise not to look at it again..."

Keroro blinked "But..."

"Please don't argue... Just do it..." Dollmaker kicked the cloth over to him "please..."

Keroro sighed and picked up the cloth and walked over to the statue "ok! Ok! I'm not looking at it!" Keroro threw the cloth over it and picked it up once it was covered "ok, you happy?"

"Yes... Very... He is to..."

"Who are you talking abou-"

"just keep it with you, it may save your life... Now go... Go through the door"


	46. The Caretaker

Keroro trudged through the halls, the statue wrapped in cloth was tucked away in Keroros hat, and he had been walking for hours.

Keroro muttered something and sat down, rubbing his feet "this sucks... Alot..."

he frowned and felt the buldge in the side of his hat "I wonder who's statue it is... Maybe it belonged to the thing I saw before?"

He pulled his hand away "what's even going on?"

He laid down and curled up into a ball "I really... Really... Want to go home... I want my gunda-"

he sat up as he saw the figure from before again, far down the hallway.

Keroro stood up "wh-who are you?! Are you following me?!

The figure simply turned and started walking away once more. Keroro muttered something under his breath and followed "this time, for sure, I'll catch up with you"

the figure rounded a corner, and Keroro soon followed. But instead of seeing the figure, he saw something a whole lot different.

There was another Keronian in the hallway, and it defiantly wasn't the figure.

This Keronian was dressed in a long cloak, and a giant hood was over its head, shadowing its entire face, making it unseeable, and the only things Keroro could see under the hood was his eyes, which glowed white.

The edges of the hood and bottom of the cloak were decorated with golden six pointed stars. It stood in front of Keroro, silent and calm.

Keroro took a step back "ehh... What? B-but... Wait are you...?"

The cloaked Keronian simply shook his head "that keronian is long gone"

"f-fuck! I was so close!" He blinked "eh... Who are you?"

"I am the Caretaker" his voice was kind, yet it sounded like an echo, ringing in Keroros ears ever so slightly, hearing his voice twice.

"Jeez, what's with names here? First Dollmaker and now Caretaker? I'm starting to judge the intelligence of whoever named you..."

"Well, our names are supposed to be a dead giveaway of what our jobs are"

"wait, your stuck in hell and you WORK? Like, you can get paid in here?"

"There is no money, I am nothing but a servant" The Caretaker looked down at his cloak "I serve my master, the king of the void, and do whatever he commands me to do" he looked back up "and his latest command was given 8,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years ago..."

"Th-that's... Uh... A long time..."

"Yes, and I am still expected to follow that order. I must wander these halls and care for anyone within"

"wait... You help them?"

"Care and help are two very different words" The Caretaker gestured with his head to a decomposing body nearby "I do not help, I give hope and give them reassurance"

"ew... Uh... That's nice..."

"No..." The Caretaker sighed "it's not... Not at all"

"huh? Why?"

"Because my hope lifts their spirits, and this place devours any happiness and bliss... Delivering a much harder punch to a happy person then a depressed one. The hope I give just leads to more and more suffering"

Keroro shuddered "a-ah..."

"Yet I must continue... Because those were my orders" The Caretaker began to walk away "I have limits for what I can say and for what I cannot... But I am allowed to say this..." He looked back at Keroro "you are very...Interesting" he whispered "something about you... Is different..." He looked away "you do not bare the markings that they do"

he suddenly vanished, leaving Keroro confused and a bit scared.

He started walking down the hall, slightly shaking "the hell is going on anymore? And where the hell is everyone?"


	47. Why me?

Keroro squealed as he tripped over a loose board on the ground. He cussed and kicked it away "s-stupid fucking peice of shit!" He yelled and stood up "Jesus... That fucking scared me!"

He rubbed his head, feeling the statue under his hat "I really wanna look at it but... If what that girl said was true..." He groaned and pulled his hand away "I don't want to get frozen in place, especially in a place like this..."

He continued walking "argh... Why does my life suck so much?" Keroro threw out his hands in an exaggerated expression of annoyance "why does it have to be me?!"

He let his arms fall to his sides "ngh... Oh I wish I had Natsumi to make some lunch, and I wish I had my gundam models... And Mois to support me..."

He leaned against a wall "I hate it here... It's so damn cold..."

He shivered and continued walking, goosebumps forming on his arms "Gosh... I could really go for some star fruit... I'm so HUNGRY!"

He stopped and looked at the body of a Viper "maybe I could... No... That's disgusting! Why would I even think that?" He hurried away "ulgh... Now I feel like puking!"

He held his head and stopped walking, tiny bursts of pain were ebbing from his stomach "ah... Now that I'm thinking about it... I-I might actually pu-"

he was cut off by a horrible pain in his stomach, he cried out and fell to his knees, he started retching and choking "agh... I-I..."

He suddenly threw up, right onto the floor, the horrid smell of semi digested food filled the already stinky air as Keroro held his stomach, spitting and coughing. The burn of stomach acid forming in his throat.

Keroro tried to stand, only to fall back onto his knees and throw up again. Tears falling from his eyes and mixing with his vomit.

Keroro stayed on his knees for a very long time, snot and tears falling from his face, followed closely behind by wet sobs and disgusting snorts.

He stared down at the large pile of vomit that rested inbetween his knees, it was so watery that he could actually see his own reflection in the juices that seeped out.

Keroro covered his eyes and started bawling, his entire body shaking and his hands getting soaked in tears and snot.

"Why me?! Why do I have to deal with this?!" He thought "all I wanted was to save the Hinatas! But they're not here! They're not ANYWHERE!"


	48. Voices

Keroro had managed to walk a few feet away from his pile of vomit before collapsing back down, he now laid there, no longer crying. The tears that had left his eyes had dried up, and the snot that had spilled out his nose was still a bit wet, yet a bit of it had already dried and stuck to his skin like a green, stomach retching scab.

He stared at the wall opposite to him, his eyes lidded and his breath came out in a wheeze.

It wasn't exhaustion that kept him down and on the ground, he didn't know what it was. He just felt no motivation to move, no reason to keep on going.

"I'm going to die... I'm going to die in hell..." He thought as his gaze found a six pointed star engraved into the wall with what seemed a sharp bloody object "maybe it's for the best... If I just lay here..."

He looked to the left to find another six pointed star, this time on a shirt that a dead child was wearing "but if I don't... Something may come along... And..."

He closed his eyes and sighed "if that does happen... Then... Maybe it will be painless? If its not... Then that will suck..." He curled up into a ball "but why resist it... If its inevitable...?"

He groaned and covered his ears as a ringing started echoing through his head "agh, w-what the hell?" He squeaked as it grew louder, almost to a point of it beginning to hurt.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and the ringing became more then just a ringing...

Soon voices started whispering from underneath the irritating noise, making Keroro claw at his head "a-ah... S-Stop it..."

The voices grew louder, saying nothing but gibberish, but to Keroro it ment something else. He didn't know what, but it made him shake violently "g-go away... Go away!"

Soon the voices drowned out Keroros own voice, making him yell in a desperation to hear himself "S-STOP! STOP! OH GOD STOP IT! IT HURTS! MY HEAD!"

He screamed at the ceiling, his eyes opening wide and his heart pounding "NO MORE! PLEASE NO MORE!"

On the ceiling where he was looking at that time, there was yet another six pointed star engraved in the wood above. But this one had an eye in the center.

There were also other symbols in the points of the star, but Keroro soon collapsed into uncounsiousness before he could make out what they were. The star, the eye, and the voices following him into his uneasy sleep.


	49. Dreams

Keroro soon found himself walking through the halls of a building, but it was not the hospital.

The familiar scents of cooked food and cleaning solids flooded this building and up Keroros nose. He knew that scent, he had smelt it all his life.

Home.

He started running "Mom! Dad!" He cried joyously "I'm back! I'm home!"

He ran into the den where he knew his father would be sitting, reading like usual, and he knew that his mother would be in the kitchen that was attached to the den, cooking like usual.

He ran through the door with his arms outstretched, ready to give his father a flying hug, yet he stopped dead once he entered.

His father was not sitting down and reading.

His mother was not cooking in the kitchen.

His parents where standing by the window, looking outside. Their bodies rigid. His moms hand grasping his dads. And as he entered, they both turned to look at him with intense hostility.

"Who are you?" His dad spat, his eyes blazing with anger.

"W-who am I? D-Dad, i-I'm your-"

"our son? Bullshit" his mom hissed, making Keroro flinch away "you are not our son. Our son is dead"

"wha- mom, I'm not dead!"

"Your nothing but a lier" his dad grabbed an object that rested behind him "He is dead... We know for a fact that he is..."

"D-Dad? When did you get a-"

"don't you dare call him your father!" His mother suddenly yelled, also grabbing an object that rested on the floor. Keroro backed away as he recognized what it was "u-uh..."

"You are not our son!"

"YOU KILLED HIM"

a sudden pain shot through Keroros head as his mom yelled those words, he cried out and fell onto the ground as the voices returned, making it feel like his head would explode.

Above the noises however, was his mothers voice joined with his fathers, screaming at him .

"OUR SON IS DEAD, YOU KILLED HIM! OUR SON IS DEAD, YOU KILLED HIM! OUR SON IS DEAD...

**_YOU KILLED HIM!"_**

Keroro thought he would go deaf, he thrashed around on the ground as the pain in his head became unbareable. He screamed and clawed at his head, his eyes squeezed shut.

But right before he could pass out, his eyes suddenly shot open to see his parents. He screamed even louder then before at what he saw.

Six pointed stars were everywhere, they covered the walls of the den, the floor he lay on, the ceiling, and his parents. Six pointed stars drawn from colorful ink were covering them from head to toe, in between their eyes, on their hands, their chests, their legs, not a single part of the body didn't have a star on it.

Their eyes were blazing with rage, but they were no longer looking at him, they were now looking back and out the window. Their hateful gaze directed to something outside.

That's when Keroro blacked out.


	50. Stars

Keroro woke up with a start, his hands flew to his chest and he started crying once more. He covered his eyes and sat against the wall, hugging his knees.

"O-oh god... Why?"

He sniffed and tried to stand, his legs shaky and asleep. But he ignored the pins and needles and started running. He felt like he needed to get away from that place. From the stars.

But now that he was looking, they were everywhere. On people's clothing and on the walls and floors.

Images of his parents covered in those stars flashed through his mind, making him uneasy and afraid.

"I need to get away from them, I need to get away from the stars..."

Keroro rounded a corner and stopped to see a dead end. A massive six pointed star on the wall of the dead end, with a big eye carved into the center of it.

There were also other symbols in the stars points, but Keroro could only stare at that eye. He could swear that it was staring back at him.

"What do you want?!" He cried "why do you tortue me like this?!"

Keroro fell to his knees "I don't understand! What did I do to deserve this?!" He covered his head and pressed his forehead into the floor "I don't want it! I don't want it!"

He spent many minutes in that position, crying into the floor. Soon his crying started to stop, and he pushed himself off his knees and onto his butt.

"What am I doing?" He whispered "I'm being stupid... Their just stars... They can't hurt me"

he looked away from the big star and started to stand up "ulgh... I feel like crap..."

He rubbed his nose and took a good portion of the dried mucus on his face off, leaving it on his hand in a green, gooey mass.

Keroro looked at it and gagged. He started trying to shake it off, and it soon broke free of his hand and hit the wall with a splat.

Keroro wiped the rest off and did the same thing "jeez... I'm a mess..." He muttered and blew his nose into a nearby curtain that was covering a window "ngh... Why does crying make so much of this shit?"

He sighed and walked away from the dead end, his shoulders sagging "where is everyone? Why did they all leave me?"

He shuddered "are they... Dead...?"

"No... Anything but that..." He broke into a run "they can't die! I need to find them!"

He sprinted through the halls, calling his friends names over and over, begging them to come out and join him.

He eventually found himself calling out Fuyukis name, and covered his mouth "no... I shouldn't call for him... He's not even here... Right?"

He shook his head "no... The Hinatas were not a part of this..."

He sighed and slowed to a walk "jeez... I'm starting to... Lose it..." He rubbed his temples "I've cried and screamed and ran away from stupid STARS... Oh I just want to go home!"

He leaned against a wall "where is everyone?"

He suddenly froze as he heard something. Voices?

He pressed his ear to the wall, and gasped "O-Oh my god..."

there were at least four voices, and each one he recognized.

"G-GUYS!" He screamed and pounded his fist against the wall "IM HERE! IM RIGHT HERE!"

He could hear the voices getting louder, along with the sound of several footsteps.

Keroro almost cried tears of joy as he heard something hitting the wall on the opposite side of him. They had actually found him!

There was a loud crack, and Keroro jumped away just in time as something sharp and silver broke out and slashed its way through the wall, forming a hole.

As the thing vanished back into the wall, a red foot suddenly shot through and broke loose the remaining wood that blocked the passage through the walls.

Keroro stumbled towards it, but his knees suddenly gave out, and he felt incredibly dizzy "wh-what's happening?" He thought as the world started to get darker then it already was. He could hear his name being shouted, and he could barely see several shapes running at him... But none of it mattered as he fell into unconsciousness.


	51. Then there were 5 once again

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you ate bugs?"

"I told you they wouldn't react well..."

"That was for survival, plus we learned something in the process, this guy told us that when someone goes insane they snap out of it after a while... But if they go crazy more then three times, their gone for good"

"kukukuu... That means Keroro must be alright then..."

"Well, how do we find him? It's not like we're in the same building"

"well, we actually are. All of these building are joined together... So, the same building..."

"Well that doesn't matter! It's not like we're RIGHT NEXT to the hospital!"

Dororo, Tamama, Giroro and Kururu kept on fussing about the current predicament, they had to find Keroro quickly, for he had no chance on his own.

"We can't split up, obviously becuase we might end up in a worser situation than before..." Giroro frowned "but as far as I can tell, this school is BIG"

"Should we just start calling out for him? These walls look thin, if we're close to the hospital he could hear us"

"yea, and something else that's NOT Keroro" Kururu looked at Tamama "attracting baddies is something that will kill us all"

Tamama looked down "then what?"

"Perhaps we could... Just walk around and wait for him to find us?" Dororo looked down the hall "that seems to be the safest option... If we stay here something else may show up"

"Oh... And another thing..." Tamama hitched a thumb at a dead Pekoponian "uh... Don't touch 100 year old bodies..."

Kururu and Dororo looked at him "uh... Why?"

"Becuase spirits who are 100 years old can apparently switch your mind with theirs..." Giroro muttered and rubbed his shoulder "making you into a zombie and them into... You"

"uh... How do you know this?"

"It... Happened to me..."

Dororo and Kururu exchanged glances "o-oh..."

Tamama shuddered "that was... A really bad time..."

Dororo sighed and crossed his arms "maybe we shoul-" he suddenly froze "a-wait... Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Giroro frowned and cupped his ear "hey... I hear it to... sounds like... Someone's yelling..."

"Is that... Sarge?!" Tamama gasped and started running towards it "SARGE!"

"Ack! Tamama!" Dororo cried and went after him.

Giroro and Kururu groaned and followed, the yelling growing louder and louder as they got closer.

Tamama stopped at a wall "I-it's coming from here!"

"Stand back!" Dororo whipped out his katana and slashed at the wall, making a large chunk of it falling away.

Giroro caught up with them and kicked down the rest of the wall and ran through to see a limp green Keronian sprawled out on the floor.

"K-Keroro!" Giroro started shaking him "wake up soldier!" He lifted him up and started smacking his face.

"G-Giroro! Careful! You might hurt him!" Dororo cried and rushed to his side.

"S-someone do CPR!" Tamama cried and lundged forward, ready to take the challenge.

"Whoa now!" Dororo held him back "He's still breathing!"

"oh..." Tamama almost seemed disappointed.

"G-gaak!" Keroro coughed and opened his eyes "wh-wha...?"

"He's awake!" Giroro let him fall .

Keroro squeaked as he hit the ground "nyaa! W-wait... What..."

"Keroro, it's alright, your safe!" Dororo knelt beside Keroro and helped him sit up.

"Oh sarge! I knew you would be ok!" Tamama cried out joyously and hugged him tightly.

Keroro stared at everyone for a second, before bursting into tears "guys... GUYS!" He hugged Tamama back, making him blush and smile wildly for some reason "d-don't you ever leave me like that again!" He cried and squeezed his eyes shut "I've been through so much, you don't even know!"

Dororo gently patted him on the back "it's ok, your safe now..."

Kururu looked at him, then at Giroro "this is to easy..." He muttered and went over to pull Keroro up into a standing position.

Giroro frowned "yea..." He looked at Keroro and saw that he was filthy, his eyes red as if he had been crying "how did he even survive this long on his own"

Keroro leaned against Kururu and tried to stand on his own, his knees knocking together violently.

Dororo gave him a worried look "Keroro? Are you alright?"

"N-no! I've been through hell man!" He cried "first you leave me, then I fall through the floor, meet freaky people with weird names, and I get nightmares and practically go deaf!" He buried his face into his hands "ohhh it was awful! I can't even bring myself to think about my parents now!"

"Your parents? Why-"

"oh! they had sex!"

Dororo suddenly burst out, cutting off Tamama.

Everybody looked at him with wide eyes, he was looking at Kururu, looking like he had just remembered something important and that his sudden outburst had nothing to do with Keroro or his parents.

The only one that showed no reaction was Kururu, who had started laughing "kukukuuu, called it..."

"Uh..." Dororo looked at everyone, his eyes suddenly wide "s-sorry... Erm... P-please continue, Keroro!"

"Eh... Ok?" Keroro looked at Tamama "uh... So... What now?"

Giroro shrugged "we go on... As a whole platoon once again..."

"And hopefully get out" Tamama whimpered "I just really... Really... REALLY wanna get home!"


	52. Don't stop

Giroro led the way after that, Keroro being supported by Dororo and Tamama. Kururu was in the back, constantly looking behind them as they walked.

"So... What happened to your neck?" Tamama looked back at Kururu.

"Kukuu..." Kururu touched the bandage that was still on his neck "nothing important..."

Dororo huffed "yea... Right... What about your shoulder Tamama?"

"Dislocated" Giroro answered for the tadpole, who had started to shake from revisiting the painful memory.

"Oh... Jeez..." Keroro grunted and tried to walk without Dororo or Tamamas help, and somewhat succeeded.

"That must have hurt" Dororo sympathized and looked at Giroro as he came to a halt "now this is weird..." The red demon muttered and looked at everyone else "hey... Check this out..."

Kururu went over to see a black door. A white note written in blood was attached to it.

_"If you enter, do not stop. Do not look to the side, Do not let your stride be broken. If you do... He will take you..."_

Kururu frowned "kukuu... Intresting..."

"Uh... I don't really wanna go in there..." Keroro squeaked.

"We have no choice..." Giroro frowned "this hallway leads to a dead end..."

"And we need to find an exit..." Dororo looked at Keroro "I guess we do what the note says... And just run through it"

Keroro gulped "b-but..."

"Come on sarge" Tamama gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

Keroro sighed "nneegghh... Ok..."

"Ok... I'll go first" Giroro rolled his shoulders back and in one swift motion, opened the door and rushed through it. The door instantly slammed shut behind him.

Kururu looked at Keroro, then opened it and ran through as well, the door shutting once more.

Tamama smiled at Keroro "see you on the other side, sarge!" He raced through.

As the door shut, Dororo looked at Keroro "you want to go next?"

"N-no..." Keroro whimpered.

Dororo blinked, then smiled "hey, why don't we go together? That way you can keep your eyes on me the entire time, and you don't have to worry about us getting separated. How does that sound?"

Keroro looked at him "r-really?"

"Yea!" Dororo put a hand on Keroros shoulder "it will be alright, you'll see!"

Keroro looked down "a-alright..."

"Ok... Then lets do it now and get it over with" he smiled and grabbed the doorknob "ready?"

Keroro gulped "y-yea..."

"1...2...3... GO!"


	53. The Door

The moment Keroro stepped foot into the room beyond the door, he felt relived. What he expected was a room of terror, yet it was only a white hallway, clean and nice looking.

"Gee, this isn't so bad..." He kept his eyes on Dororo the entire time. The ninja was a foot ahead of him, and keeping a pace that Keroro could easily maintain. But the hallway was LONG, Keroro thought it would never end, and since Dororo was in front of him, he could not see if the end was nearing or not.

Suddenly, something caught the corner of his eye. He didn't know what it was, and he was pretty sure it was nothing, but it still attracted his attention.

He stopped.

Instantly he regretted doing so, but just as he was about to continue running, something happened.

The wall next to him suddenly began to change, and a massive purple and black door appeared. Keroro fell back and screamed, his eyes wide as the door started to creak open.

But there was suddenly a flash of blue, and the next thing he knew, Dororo was standing in front of him, facing the door. His arms outstretched as if to block Keroro.

Keroro had no time to tell him to run away, for the door was now open, and what lay beyond it made Keroro scream.

Two red eyes and a big smile.

...

Giroro caught Tamama as he burst through the door. The tadpole was gasping and panting "j-jeez! Why was that hallway so long?" Tamama rubbed his forehead.

Giroro looked at the door and shrugged. It was now closed again. A note exactly alike the one from the other door was on it as well.

"Hey, at least we made it through... I hope Keroro dosent chicken out..."

"Kukukuu... Like Dororos to selfish to leave him behin-"

Kururu was cut off as the note on the door suddenly burst into flames, making everyone scream and jump away.

They watched as the note slowly turned black and fell apart, the fire soon fading away. Giroro rubbed his eyes "d-did that just happen?"

Suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere, it sounded like a man with a weak voice.

"Fire is a clenser, if something is on fire, it is being cleaned from this world, because it it no longer needed"

Kururu and Giroro looked at each other "Kukukuu... If its no longer needed?"

Giroro looked at the door, then looked at Tamama "that was a note... Telling us not to stop..."

Suddenly, there was a scream, it was loud and full of terror, and it came from behind the door.

Giroro gasped and grabbed the doorknob "I-I'm going back in!"

"G-Giroro-"

Giroro ingored Tamama and ran back in, and stopped artuptly at what he saw.

Keroro was kneeling on the ground, hunched over with his face to the floor. A lake of blood surrounding him.

Giroro started running again "K-Keroro!" He stopped at his side "K-Keroro, what happened?!"

Keroro was also crying, clutching something to his chest. His tears mixing with the blood "Keroro, where did all this blood come from?!"

Keroro looked up at him, his eyes wide and his nose runny, he owned his mouth to say something, but only a sob came out. Giroro blinked as he finnaly recognized the object that Keroro was holding.

Dororos katana...

Giroro gasped and looked at the blood again, and to his horror, he could see tiny fragments of grey and white fabric floating around in it.

Giroro fell to his knees "no... No it couldn't be..." He whispered.

"Dororo's... Dead?"


	54. A lost companion

Tamama covered his mouth as Giroro and Keroro came through the door. Keroros feet and knees were covered in blood and he held Dororos katana with stiff hands.

"W-what happened?!" Kururu eyed the katana "where's Dororo?!"

Giroro looked at him with grief filled eyes "D-Dead..."

"Wh...what?!" Kururu looked at Keroro "how?!"

"I-I was... Running..." Keroro managed to sputter "a-and something... Made me stop... Th-then there was a door and..." He covered his eyes and cried "th-then there was this... Thing... With black skin... And red eyes..."

Kururu stiffened, his face growing dark "th-then..." Keroro continued "I-it just... Grabbed him... And pulled him in!" He started shaking his head wildly "I-I heard him die! He was screaming and screaming and screaming!" He fell to his knees "just buckets and buckets of blood came out from under the door! I-it was his blood! A-and..."

Kururu looked down at the katana as Keroro held it out "this... Fell off him... As he got pulled in..."

A heavy silence filled the air, Everyone stared at the katana as they processed Keroros story.

Suddenly Kururu yelled and slapped the katana out of his hands and into Giroros chest, who gasped and caught it.

Tamama shrank away as Kururu stormed by him, only to stop as he went a few feet away, then come back "you did this!" Kururu yelled at Keroro, making him cry even more "YOU KILLED DORORO!"

"Hey!" Giroro pushed him away and handed Keroro the katana he had just caught "blaming him won't bring Dororo back! It's not his fault..." He voice faltered a bit as he held back his tears "it's this place... It killed Dororo, not him"

Kururu glared at him before turning away. Giroro looked at the door "h-he was... A great friend... I knew him ever since I was a tadpole..." He looked at Keroro and Tamama "h-he didn't deserve to die... Not here..."

Tamama started to cry "I-I forgot abot him all the time!" Tamama cried and hugged Giroro "b-but now I won't be able to say I'm sorry!"

Keroro and Kuriru stayed silent, staring off into the distance. Finnaly Kururu spoke up "the idiot saved my life... Twice..." He touched his bandage.

Keroro looked at the katana, and stood up "I... I'm going to keep it..." He announced with a shakey voice "it's all... We have left of him..."

Giroro nodded and looked at Kururu "we need to get out of here... Someone needs to tell Koyuki..."

Tamama let out a sob and nodded, his body shaking.

Giroro looked at Keroro before starting to walk away "lets get away from here..." He whispered.

Everyone nodded and followed Giroro, leaving the hallway behind.


	55. The pain of death

They walked in silence, not making eye contact with one another. Their grief radiating off them in waves.

Finally, some one spoke up "I-I'm really... Really hungry..." Tamama whimpered "and I think we lost the container of maggots we managed to hold onto..."

"Yea..." Giroro looked back at him "maybe... We'll find something to eat..."

"Like dead people?" Kururu muttered

Keroro gagged "d-don't talk about canibalisum... Please..."

Tamama shivered and clung to Keroros arm "I-I don't want to lose anyone else..." He started to cry.

Keroro patted the tadpoles head "d-don't worry... I... I'm sure we'll find the exit soon..."

Kururu glared at him, but said nothing and walked ahead.

"Hey" Giroro blinked "Kururu, don't go to far ahead"

"I'm fine" he snarled and didn't stop his quick pace.

"No, seriously, we can't afford to get split up again!"

"Shut up!" Kururu snapped as he rounded a corner.

Giroro cussed and ran after him, making sure that Keroro and Tamama followed.

He heard the bang of a closing door as he rounded the corner to see a dead end with only a single door leading out of it.

"Kururu! Come back!"

Kururu covered his ears on the other side of the door, his teeth were grinding against each other and his face dark "I can't even look at him anymore..." He thought "Keroros a murderer... He killed Dororo!"

Kururu let his arms fall to his sides "if only he didn't stop... Dororo would be here... Dororo would be free of pain and walking along side us... But thanks to that goof..."

He looked back at the door, he could hear Giroro banging against it, trying to open it "stop it Giroro! I want to be alone!"

"Kururu! That's suicide!" He heard the red demon shout from the other side "open the door!"

Kururu looked at the doorknob, and he shuddered as he realized that the doorknob was not moving as Giroro tried to twist it from the other side, as if it was locked.

"Wait... I didn't lock it..." Kururu grabbed the doorknob and tried to open the door. It didn't even budge...

Kururu felt his stomach lurch as there was a creaking sound behind him. He turned and fell back against the door as he saw a man standing there. It was the same man he had seen dead on Giroro and Tamamas side of the portal. But this time the wound that Dororos katana was still there.

"He's been dead all this time..." Kururu thought and tried the door again "he was just waiting until one of us was alone!"

"You aliens are magnificent creatures... And so easy to preserve..." The man said with a smile, his eyes wild behind his broken glasses "I'm so thankful I was brought here... He was such a gentleman, that salesman" he laughed and reached down to grab Kururu by the back of his neck.

Kururu yelled as he was yanked off the ground, and forced to look at the man.

"K-Kururu!" Giroro gasped as he heard his friend yell. He kicked at the door "D-Damn it! Open!"

Tamama ran over "W-what's going on!?"

"Kururus in trouble and the door won't open!"

Keroro looked around wildly "uh...uh..."

he stopped as he looked down the hall he had just came from, the figure from before stood there, still covered in shadow.

Keroro stared at it, suddenly aware of the statue that was still in his hat "what do you want? Why are you following me?" He whispered.

"KERORO! HELP US!"

Giroros frantic yell brought Keroro back to his senses, and he turned away from the figure and ran over to the door "I can't think about this now... I need to help Kururu!"

"L-et me go you fucking creep!" Kururu kicked the mans arm, struggling to get free.

The man only smiled and carried him over to a giant metal table, many tools were hung on the wall, all of them bloody "your not attractive... Not worthy of becoming part of my collection of dolls..." He threw Kururu down onto the table and held him there.

"Yet you've got a brain that's to die for!" He laughed and strapped the struggling Kururu down with metal restraints "it must be so beautiful! I must preserve it and all the knowledge it holds!"

"No! Let me go right now!" Kururu spat and attempted to rip himself free, but failed.

"Nyehehehee!" The man grabbed a chainsaw that was on the wall "I'll have to extract it while your dead though... So I'll just cut you in half horizontally so I don't ruin my prize!"

"KU!" Kururu thrashed around, his eyes wide "no!"

"Kururu!" Giroro yelled as he body slammed the door, but just bounced off and hit the ground with a thud.

"Don't hurt him! Please!" Tamama cried and tried the doorknob again.

The man ingored the voices of Kururus friends and started the chainsaw.

Keroro started to cry as he heard the buzzing from beyond the door and fell to his knees "K-Kururu! No!"

Keroro had never heard Kururu scream before, it sounded just like his own, maybe a bit deeper, but it was full of fear and pain and acted like a cheese grater to Keroros ears.

Keroro hunched over and covered his ear as he could imagine the image to which the noises belonged to. Metal scraping against flesh and bone as blood squirting everywhere, he could imagine Kururu dying, his screams slowly stoping as he bled out.

If Keroros imagination was overestimating the death of his friend, it didn't matter. The end result would still be the same.

Keroro slowly uncovered his ears as the screaming stopped, he looked at the door to see Giroro leaning against it, his eyes wide and his hands shaking. Tamama was standing beside Keroro, shaking and crying.

"Kururus dead..." Keroro thought, then reared back and screamed at the ceiling.

"one by one you will all die" a voice seemed to whisper in his ear, barely noticeable over his high pitched wail.

"and you can't do nothing to stop it..."


	56. Crushing walls

Giroro sat against the wall, staring off into space "both Dororo and Kururu have died... And their deaths were no longer then an hour apart from each other..."

Giroro looked at Tamama and Keroro, who were both crying and hugging each other for comfort "if we don't get out of here... We will all die..."

Giroro sniffed and looked back at the door "Kururu... I'm so sorry..."

he covered his eyes and groaned, then looked back at the door and blinked. Something flat and shiny was sticking out from under the door. He reached over and pulled it out, his hand flew to his mouth as he held back a sob.

It was Kururus glasses, one of the lenses was cracked a bit, but that was all. Giroro look at it, tears falling from his eyes. He brushed them away "these must have fallen off him when he was struggling..."

Giroro looked at Keroro and Tamama, who were now looking at him. He held up the glasses for them to see. Tamama instantly began to cry harder, while Keroro just stared. Slowly, his leader pulled out Dororos katana and looked at Giroro.

"W-we can't lose these..." Keroro whimpered "we just can't..."

Giroro nodded and stood up "we need to leave... Now..."

Keroro helped Tamama up and they slowly walked away, since it was a dead end, they had to go back the way they came. Keroro looked down as they walked past the door Dororo never came out of "it's... All my fault..." He sniffed.

"No... It's not sarge... It's not your fault" Tamana hugged his arm "Dororo dosent blame you ether..."

Giroro looked back at them "he's right Keroro"

Keroro sighed "maybe..."

Suddenly he blinked and looked to his left "hey... What's that?"

Something round and large was on the ground, Keroro went over to look at it and gasped "g-guys!"

Giroro looked over to see Keroro standing by a giant watermelon "h-holy..."

"F-food!" Tamama cried.

Giroro gasped as Keroro took a step towards it "N-NO!"

He charged at Keroro and shoved him away from the watermelon, just as he did so, the floor gave out from underneath him.

Tamama gasped as Giroro fell down the hole in Keroros place, yelling until he hit the ground with a thud. Keroro screamed and covered his mouth "G-GIRORO!"

"O-oww..." Giroro groaned and looked around. He was now in a small room with metal walls. An elevator like door leading out of it. He rubbed his back and stood up and looked down. Instead of a normal floor, there was a large grate, Giroro looked through the holes to see water.

Giroro looked up to see Keroro and Tamama looking down at him through the hole he had fallen through. They looked tiny, for they were so high up "jeez... How did I not break anything from that fall?"

"I-I'm ok!" Giroro called up to him "but I think I'm stuck!"

"Thank god!" Keroro clutched his chest.

"We'll get you out!" Tamama cried.

"There's a door..." Giroro tried to pry it open "ngh! No good!"

"What does it look like?"

"Like an elevator door!"

"Ok! Sit tight! We'll try and find it!"

Giroro watched as Keroro and Tamama vanished from veiw. He sighed and sat down.

But just as he began to relax, there was a large creaking noise that made him jump "wha-"

There was another creak, and the room suddenly started shaking ever so slightly. Giroro cried out as the walls of the room began to slide towards him, threatening to crush him.

Giroro tried the door again "f-fuck!" He banged the door "Tamama! Keroro!"

"Giroro!" The red demon got a blast of relief as he heard his friends from the other side of the door "the walls are closing in!" He yelled "help me get the door open!"

Giroro looked back to see that he only had about 5 feet left of space "h-hurry!"

Keroro was freaking out "uuuhhh... Uuhhhh..."

Tamama had started to look around "ok... Ok... Here's some weird moat like river thing" Tamama pointed at a hole in the ground that stretched across the long side of the hallway, it was full of black water "we also have a table and a chair!"

"That won't help!" Giroro cried as he now only had 3 feet left.

"Oh! I saw a crowbar when we were coming here!" Keroro cried.

"G-go get it!"

Keroro started running, his mind racing "where was it... Where was it... Was it here?"

Keroro gasped as he saw the crowbar, it was jutting out a pile of broken wood.

He grabbed, but just as he did, he heard a scream. It was harsh and loud, just like Kururus and Dororos.

He raced back to Tamama with the crowbar in his hand, but just as he reached him, there was a sickening crunch and a bang.

Keroro stopped, Tamama was frozen still, his hands covering his mouth.

"No...NO!" Keroro cried and hit the door with the crowbar "GIRORO!"

Tamama turned away, but just as he did, he screamed.

Keroro looked over to see the moat from before was now red, meaty chunks were floating in it, along with shards of bone and organs.

"No... No it's not him" Keroro sputtered "he's alive... He's not dead... There's no proof..."

"S-sarge..." Tamama took the crowbar and dipped the curved end into the blood, hooking it onto something and pulling it out.

It was a belt.

Giroros belt.

Keroro let out a sob and took it from the crowbar, the fabric was stained a dark red from the bloody water, yet Keroro didn't mind and held it close "G-Giroro... No..." He cried into the belt, Tamama looked away and cried as well.

"First Dororo... Then Kururu... Now Giroro... Is there no end?"


	57. Black quicksand

After Giroros death, Keroro started acting strange.

He had dragged Tamama away from the moat, clutching Dororos katana, Kururus glasses, and Giroros belt to his chest "thank god The glasses made it safely into the moat as well as the belt, maybe that's the thing Giroro tried to protect as he got crushed" he thought as they rounded a corner.

"S-sarge" Tamama squeaked as Keroro tightened his grip on his arm "Y-Your hurting me..."

"I can't afford to lose you to" Keroro stopped and pulled Tamama close to him, his eyes wild and full of fear "your all I have left"

Tamama flinched as Keroro continued to pull him down the hall "b-but..."

Keroro suddenly stopped as they came across a gigantic room with white walls and a black floor.

Keroro held Tamama back "wait... I'll test it..."

"Wha- sarge?"

"I won't let you die!" Keroro grabbed his shoulders and gave Tamama the things that he held "if I die here... You need to protect them"

without saying anything else, Keroro stepped onto the black floor. He looked back at Tamama "wait here until I give the signal"

"But sarge, it's just a floor, how can it hurt me?"

"I'm not trusting anything right now!" Keroro snapped and started walking.

Tamama watched as Keroro inched his way across the floor, testing every part of it. Since it was a pretty big room, it took forever.

Tamama was sitting down by the time Keroro finished, and got to the other side where another door was "alright! Come over!"

Tamama sighed and stood up. He started walking, looking strait at Keroro.

Suddenly he fell, the objects he held spilling out of his arms "agh! Sarge!"

Keroro gasped as he saw the privates feet, both were IN the floor, and to his horror, Tamama was sinking.

"NOOO!" Keroro screamed and ran over. He skidded to a halt by his privates side and grabbed him by the waist "don't worry! I'll save you!" He cried.

"Sarge!" Tamama started crying as he was down to his waist "I-I can't move my legs!"

"Why am I not sinking to?" Keroro thought as he pulled up on Tamamas body, trying to pull him out "no... Nononononooooo"

"h-help!" Tamama was now to his shoulders, his arms frantically grabbing at Keroro "I-I don't wanna die!"

"TAMAMA!" Keroro screamed as his mouth was covered, he stared at the privates eyes, they were full of fear and tears leaked out of them. Soon, even those vanished into the floor, leaving only one of his hands.

Keroro grabbed it, but it was soon yanked out of his grasp and that to, vanished.

Keroro stared at the floor for a solid 30 seconds before screaming. He punched the ground, digging at it with his fingers "NONONONONONONONONONO!"

He covered his eyes and cried, his body shaking. He soon laid down, his face right where Tamama user to be. He cried into the floor like that, slowly falling into unconsciousness.


	58. Cookie

Keroro was standing in total darkness, yet he could perfectly see four figures that's stood in front of him.

Tamama, Giroro, Kururu, and Dororo.

They were staring at him, their eyes dead and their body's waxy and limp. Yet there they stood, staring at Keroro.

"I killed you" Keroro whispered "your dead because of me..."

They just looked at him, and suddenly someone appeared beside Keroro. Keroro turned to see the Caretaker.

"Yes you killed them..." The Caretaker whispered "but think... Did you really?"

Keroro woke up in a cold sweat, his arms and legs asleep and tears drying up on his face.

Keroro stared off onto the distance, his cheek pressed against the floor where Tamama had once been.

"Everyone's dead... I'm all alone now..." He let out a sob "I'm going to die alone... In this hell..."

He soon sat up "but that's fine... I'm nothing but a murderer... I deserve it..."

He blinked and looked at the floor just in time to see something brown pop out of it. He frowned and looked at the object and gasped.

A chocolate chip cookie.

Keroro let out another sob and picked it up "Tamama must have had this..." He thought and hugged it "oh... My poor private..."

He looked at the objects Tamama had dropped and picked them up.

Glasses, a cookie, a sword, and a belt..." He whispered "these were your things... Their all I have left..." Keroro sniffed "ohhhhh... What have I done?"

He picked them up and walked away. He had no destination, he just walked and walked.

Soon he came upon a dead child with a large bag. His ghost sitting next to it.

The ghost looked at him and vanished. Keroro didn't bother asking and grabbed the empty bag and put his friends things in it.

He took it with him, and soon he came across a dead girl with a noose in her hand. He simply took that to.

The halls were silent, his footsteps echoing across the hall. He reached into his hat and pulled out the statue with cloth wrapped around it. He threw it into the bag as well.

"I don't know what you are... Or what you look like..." He muttered "but your not following me anymore" he glared into the shadows, where, sure enough, the mystery figure was watching him "I'll keep this statue with me, so no one else will find it! That way you won't have to follow anyone else anymore!"

He held up the noose "that includes me to!" He yelled and stormed away, his eyes narrowed "no more... No more..."

He soon found a large hole in the floor, and a peice of wood was covering it. He tied one end of the noose to the board covering the hole and put the noose's loop around his neck "this is my punishment..." Keroro tied the bag to his waist "I deserve this... And when I die, their spirits will hate me... They may even torture me..."

Keroro sat down and put his legs into the he so they dangled "and they should... I killed them..." He tensed up, ready to fall down into the hole.

This is it... This is where I die..."

Keroro jumped.

he closed his eyes as he fell, he expected to be halted by the noose, but he just kept going "wait... Something wrong..."

He suddenly hit the ground, he cried out and looked back up "ooooowwww! What the hell?"

He blinked as he saw that his noose had been cut "wh-what!? Who-"

"please... Don't do that again..."

Keroro blinked and looked down the hall he was now in and saw another ghost, this time a Pekoponian. She was so small, and she wore a red dress.

She looked very sad "you can't just do that... They need you..."

"Who's they? Ow!" Keroro squeaked and held his arm.

"Your friends" she walked closer "they need you"

"my friends? My friends are dead!" He cried "I killed them!"

The little girl sighed and crouched down to his level "I'm... Really sorry..."

"Don't talk like you know what's going on I'm my life!" Keroro snapped "you know nothing!"

The girl looked at the ceiling "I do... I know alot... I know all about every person in here... Or... In someplace else much like this... But I've been watching you"

"w-well, I don't care!" Keroro grabbed his bag and turned away "I'm going to kill myself and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"But they need you"

"their dead! How can they need me?!"

Suddenly the girl was beside him "the Caretaker will explain..." She placed a ghostly hand on Keroros shoulder, making him flinch "and then, you will understand..."

Keroro turned to look at her, only to see that she was gone.

Keroro stood up, and looked into the bag "what can the Caretaker say that could possibly help me?"


	59. Enlightenment

Keroro found himself walking again. And soon he could see two white eyes from the darkness "what do you want?" He muttered "why can't you just let me kill myself? Why did you send that ghost to stop me?"

The Caretaker stepped out from the shadows "walk with me" he said and gestured for Keroro to follow him as he went deep into the darkness.

As Keroro followed, he started talking.

"This is a world of pain and fear... It has a mind of its own and takes the form of any location it desires... Changing from a hospital to a school to a museum... The possibilitys are endless..."

The Caretaker looked at Keroro "it is also smart... It can create servants much like myself... Your friends met quite a few on their journeys..."

He sighed "but your friends are now dead... Am I correct?"

"Yes..." Keroro looked down "I-I killed them!"

"Did you now?" The Caretaker looked at the dead body of a pekoponian child.

"Yes! It's all my fault!" Keroro cried "I heard them die! Their screams were awful!"

"That is the key word there..."

"Huh?"

"You heard them die, you didn't see"

"I-if your trying to trick me into beliving that they really lived, I'm not falling for it! I saw Dororo and Giroros blood!"

"Then use logic" the Caretaker looked at him again.

"Huh?"

Suddenly the hallway changed, making Keroro squeak. He instantly reconized the white hallway "wh-wha... No... No don't bring me here..."

"You are now in a memory..." The Caretaker whispered and guestered to a couple of Keronians.

Keroro gasped as he reconized himself and Dororo "no... NO! Don't make me watch this! Please!"

"You need to..."

Keroro looked away as he saw the door appear "no... Please..."

He heard Dororo scream and the door slam shut, but the screaming continued behind it.

"Oh god..." Keroro thought he was going to hurl.

Suddenly the hallway reset, and the entire thing started over.

Keroro forced himself to watch "I hate this... I want to leave!"

"You need to see..."

Keroro fought back tears as he watched Dororo being grabbed by two massive black hands and pulled in, but this time, instead of looking away, Keroro blinked "wh-wha...?"

"I... I can't believe I'm saying this but... Do it again..."

Slam!

"a-again!"

Slam!

Keroro was now shaking, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open "oh my god..."

"Now do you see?"

Keroro nodded, his entire body shaking.

The katana never left Dororos backside.


	60. Logic

Keroro looked at the Caretaker as the hallway turned back to the one they left off in "b-but... If it never fell off him... How..." He pulled the katana out of his bag and looked at it.

"It was placed there after his death... When you were to shocked to notice" the Caretaker continued walking "and there's more evidence... The fact that you got a cookie from Tamamas death is puzzling, no? He said he was starving, surely he would remember that he had a cookie on him, he would have eaten it or shared it with everyone"

"and Kururus glasses, how could they just fall off him and land perfectly under the door? And Giroros belt, it would have been crushed as well, plus the fact that it's buckle is unbendable, so how did it get through the grate in the crusher, along with the glasses, and float down the moat practically undamaged?"

Keroro stared at him "th-then... What happened?"

"Your friends mentioned it before... Something called a spirit swap..." The Caretaker looked at him "it's when your spirit gets swapped with another's..."

"G-go on..."

"I said this place was smart, yes? And do you remember the red eyed thing that led you here in the first place?"

"Uh... Yes..."

"It said that someone was bored"

"yea it did..."

Let me explain what happened, when you guys first came in here, there was a second where you blacked out... In that second, this world did something horrible. It chose 4 random people and swapped their spirits with your friends spirits, and changed the four random people's bodies to mirror your friends..."

"W-wait... Like... Clones?"

"Clones that actually think that their who their ment to look like. When they died, their spirits were pulled back out and sent to their original bodies, which had been hidded, and the fakes spirits were just thrown out to suffer"

"wait... Their spirits back... In their own bodies?" Keroro choked out "th-that means..."

"Yes, your friends are still alive"


	61. A sick game

Keroro started crying. His friends were alive! They were ok!

Keroro hugged the Caretaker "th-thank you! Oh thank you! He cried.

"Now hang on" the Caretaker looked at him "I'm not finished"

Keroro blinked "h-huh?"

"This place is bored Keroro, it wants to play a game... It wants you to find your friends"

"I-I can do that!" Keroro cried.

"Not so fast" the Caretaker sighed "Keroro, they died in painful ways; getting torn apart, getting chainsaw ed in half, getting crushed and suffocating..."

"A-and?"

"They were in tremendous pain when they went back"

"but their bodies are undamaged, their fine now!"

"No their not"

"eh-what do you mean?"

"An easy game wouldn't be much fun, so this world increased the difficulty... They tortured your friends bodies, mentally. So when they went back, a whole new world of pain was waiting for them. Their close to losing their minds"

Keroro gulped as he continued "you need to appease them, by using the items in your bag" the Caretaker narrowed his eyes "if you fail once... All five of you will die"

Keroro looked at the bag, then back at the Caretaker "wh-where are they?"

"Just up ahead..." The Caretaker said and gestured to a door "beyond that door, there are five stone slabs and five doors, each door leads to one of your friends... When one of your friends is appeased, they will be teliported to their slab, they will not be able to move, so if you fail with only one of your friends, the slabs will kill your friends in some way, while you die by your friends hand.

Keroro shuddered and went to the door "o-okay..."

"And Keroro?"

Keroro looked back at the Caretaker "when you enter a door, you will not be able to leave until you complete the appeasing"

Keroro nodded and looked at the door "man... I feel like I'm in an RPG..." He whispered and went through the door.

The Caretaker sighed "yes, that is what the void intended..."


	62. Gay

Keroro shuddered as he stepped into the room. It was exactly what the Caretaker said it would look like; five doors against the wall, with five slabs in the center of the room.

"This is a sick game... Making my friends suffer for entertainment..." Keroro hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and started walking to the first door "but I can't fail... I won't..." Keroro reached for the doorknob "I can't run away... Not this time... It's my fault we're here, so I'm going to get us out!"

Keroro opened the door and gasped at what he saw.

It was a long, dark hallway covered in newspaper clippings "w-woah..."

Just as he stepped in, the door slammed shut behind him "y-yeeek!" He looked back at it "a-alright then..."

Keroro started walking, looking at the newspaper clippings. He gasped as they were all newspapers talking about the invasion of Pekopon "I'm in these pictures! We all are!" He gulped as he realized every picture of him was scratched furiously out, leaving a black hole on the page right where is Keroros face wound be.

Keroro looked down the hall, a door was at the end of it. Keroro took a deep breath as he reached it "this is it... Who is it going to be?" He thought as he grabbed the doorknob "who's going to be saved first?"

A gust of dusty air blew out as Keroro opened the door, he coughed and looked inside. It was a very dark room, also covered with newspaper clippings. He gasped as he saw a black figure sprawled out on the ground "wha... Tamama!"

He was about to run over until he remembered what the Caretaker said.

"Their close to losing their minds"

"I-I need to be careful..." Keroro thought as the door closed behind him "T-Tamama?"

He saw the tadpole stir and slowly sit up. Keroro flinched as he saw the privates eyes, glazed over and veiny, his pupal tiny and vibrating ever so slightly.

Tamamas face was tainted with an ugly frown "y-you..." He growled, his voice was dry and cold, clearly not pleased to see his leader "why... Are you here?"

"Tamama... I came to help you..." Keroro took a step closer to the private.

Tamama snarled and narrowed his eyes, drool dripping out of his mouth "s-stay away from me!" He yelled and swatted at Keroro "Get out get out get out!"

"T-Tamama..." Keroro stared at him with wide eyes, this was his cute, snack eating private? He looked like a rabid animal, spitting and snarling at him, saliva going everywhere and his eyes showed nothing but hate.

"You let me die!" He snapped, making Keroro flinch "you let me suffocate! It was cold!" He grabbed his own neck "I can still feel the burn! You did nothing! You let me die alone and scared!"

Keroro stared at Tamama "I-I'm so sorry..." He sputtered, his hands shaking.

"And to think I loved you!" He screamed, tearing up the newspaper clippings that laid around him with his fingers "but you just abandoned me!"

Keroro blinked "w-wait.. You... What?"

"See?! You never even noticed!" Tamama punched the wall "after all I've done, after every hint I've dropped, you never noticed! How could I love something so stupid?! Uhhhhh! I HATE YOU!"

As Tamama screamed, Keroro was lost in thought "Tamama... Loves me?"

It felt like someone had punched Keroro in the gut "but... We're both guys... Does this mean Tamama is... Gay?" He watched his private thrash around, tearing up newspaper clippings and screamed insults at Keroro "gay... For me?"

"Oh Tamama..." He whispered "wh-why didn't you tell me?"

Tamama didn't seem to hear him, and kept the insults coming.

"All this time, you wanted me? And to think, all I cared about was gundam models and the invasion... Mostly gundam models though... How could I be so blind?"

Keroro looked down "but even if I had known back then... Would I have loved him back? Sure he's a guy and all... But he's really sweet... And... Can be really considerate sometimes... But... I'm not gay... Am I?"

He started walking towards Tamama "even if I'm not... How can I turn my back on him? After all I've just learned, after everything he has confessed... How could I?"

"G-get away!" Tamama yelled and tried to hit Keroro as he came closer "get away or I'll kill you!"

"Tamama..." Keroro said loud enough for the private to hear "I... I..."

"You what?! Huh?! You WHAT?!" Tamama spat "your disgusted!? Your disturbed?! Just because another guy fantasies about you?! WHAT IS IT?!"

Keroro stopped walking as he neared Tamama "I... Accept..."

"JUST AS I THOUGHT! YO- wait... What?"

Keroro suddenly wrapped his arms around Tamama, making the tadpole shriek "EAARRGGHH! Get off!"

"I'm sorry..." Keroro sobbed "I'm so... So sorry!" He buried his face into Tamamas shoulder "please... Forgive me! I-I never ment to shove you away like that..."

Tamama was breathing hard, his eyes wide and full of surprise "g-get off!"

"I love you to!" Keroro cried, making Tamama jolt with surprise "now I see, Tamama your such a good person! Sure you have a short temper and your ability to shot lasers out of your mouth is pretty strange but besides all of that, your so sweet!"

Keroro pulled away and looked at him "T-Tamama, please! Let us get out of here! We can rescue the others and find a way out! Then we can live together without fear!" Keroro held onto his shoulders "please... Tamama..." He started to cry "T-Tamama, be my boyfriend!"

Tamama stared at him with blank eyes, his mouth hanging open. He was silent for quite a while. But he soon spoke "r...really?"

"Yes!" Keroro hugged him tightly "please!"

Tamama started to break down, he cried and hugged him back "s-sarge... Oh sarge!"

It felt like a heavy feeling was lifted from the room, the hate that consumed Tamama was fading away, leaving love and happiness in the privates eyes. Tamama and Keroro cried together, hugging each other close and refusing to let go.

After a while, Keroro reached into his bag and pulled out the cookie "T-Tamama... A-are you hungry?"

Tamama covered his mouth "wh-where... How?"

"I-I found it... After you... Died... Please..." Keroro Handed it to him "eat it... Please... You need it more then I do..."

Tamama let out another sob and bit into it "s-sarge... Thank you..." He cried through a mouthful of cookie.

Keroro watched with a smile on his face as Tamama ate the cookie, it must have tasted good, and he must have been as hungry as he claimed for it was gone in a matter of seconds.

Tamama licked his lips and looked at him, his pupals were back to their normal size, and he looked happy "s-sarge..." He whispered "I love you..."

then he was gone.

Keroro gasped and jumped away from the empty space that Tamama once inhabited "wait... Does that mean..."

He ran out, through the hallway and into the room, and sure enough, Tamama was standing on one of the stone slabs, dazed and confused, possibly from the sudden change in soroundings.

"S-sarge! I-I can't move!"

Keroro ran over to him "I-it's ok Tamama!" Keroro held his hand, which was frozen in place "you won't be able to move for a while... But your fine, ok? Look, see those doors? Our friends are behind them, I gotta get them out"

"w-wait! Don't leave me!"

Keroro looked at him strait in the eye "Tamama... Their suffering... Just like you were... I promise, you will be safe..."

"B-but what if you fail?!"

Keroro gulped "then... We all die..."

Tamama whimpered "b-but we just found each other..." He cried.

"I-I know... But I gotta do this..." He pressed his head against Tamamas hand "just... Sit tight, alright? I'll try to come back as soon as I can..."

Tamama nodded, fighting back tears. Keroro bit his lip and grabbed his bag, and went through the second door.


	63. Self harm

Keroro covered his mouth as he entered the second door.

Tiny puddles of blood were scattered around a dark hallway, like someone had cut themselves and ran around without applying pressure to the wound. Not enough to lead to death, but enough to make Keroro worry.

Keroro hurried to the door on the end. He gasped as he opened it and looked inside. More blood. But this time the puddles were bigger. He could see a figure hunched over something, facing the wall.

"H-hello?" Keroro got a bit closer and gasped as he saw red skin through the darkness.

"G-Giroro?"

He shuddered as Giroro stirred a bit, but then once again fell still "go away" his raspy voice was small and weak, Keroro squinted, trying to get a better look at him through the darkness "G-Giroro... I-it's me... Keroro..."

Giroro looked at him ever so slightly, he looked tired and depressed "j-just... Go away..."

"G-Giroro, what happened? Did you cut yourself? Where did this blood come from?"

"Leave... Me... Alone...!" Giroro suddenly cried, his head banging against the wall "I-I want to be alone!"

Keroro took a step back "I-I can't... Giroro, I can't just leave you..."

"I said LEAVE!" Giroro stood up and faced him directly, making Keroro gasp.

His entire body was covered in small cuts, blood slowly ozzing out of them.

"G-Giroro! What did you do to yourself?!"

Giroro sulked, his arms hanging limply at his sides "I hate it..." He choked out "I hate my life... I hate having to deal with this emotional pain..."

"That dosent mean you should hurt yourself physically!" Keroro cried.

"This?" He looked at his cuts "this is NOTHING!"

He pointed at Keroro with a cut up finger "I was CRUSHED! It was slow! Painful! Compared to that... THIS..." He held his arms out to show the damaged he had inflicted upon himself "is like petting a kitten!"

"But..." Keroro took a step towards him "you don't have to do this! There's no reason to hurt yourself like this!"

"Oh, there's a great reason!"

Keroro heard a click and covered his mouth as Giroro pulled out a hand gun and put it to his head "I want to die, Keroro! There's no point in living if we're in here forever!"

"where did he get a gun?!" Keroro thought "oh, wait, that's his original body... All of his stuff is on it... That's why it seemed like we lost everything when we first arrived!"

"Giroro, please, don't to this!" Keroro whispered and took a step toward him "If you do... Then... Then..." Keroro shuddered "e-everyone else would be sad! Do you really want that?"

Giroro narrowed his eyes "you can't stop me... Nothing can stop me!" He put his hand to the trigger.

"N-no! G-Giroro! Th-think about Natsumi! Would you really want to die without confessing your feelings to her?!"

Giroro froze "N...Natsumi?"

"Yea! Don't you want to see her again? I know you love her!" Keroro pulled out Giroros belt and popped open the white compartment "look! You even have her picture in here!"

Giroro stared at the belt "wh...wh..."

"Come on Giroro! Put the gun down and take it!" He held the belt out "take it and put it on! Your a man, start acting like one!"

Keroro narrowed his eyes "your a soldier! You can't just throw away your chance of winning the war just because you lost a battle!"

A heavy silence filled the room, Giroros eyes were quivering as he stared at the belt. After what felt like hours, the gun slipped from Giroros fingers and hit the ground with a clatter.

Keroro sighed with relief and put the belt in Giroros hands, and quickly grabbed the gun and threw it into his bag.

Giroro stared at the picture of Natsumi, tears falling from his eyes. He closed the compartment and put the belt on, clearly fighting back the urge to sob.

He looked at Keroro "D...Do... You think she really loves me?"

"N-No idea... Why don't you find out when we get back?" Keroro smiled "and if we can't... Then... Rest easy knowing she's not here with us..."

Giroro bit his lip and wiped the tears out of his eyes, and just as he did, he vanished.


	64. Murderer

Keroro smiled as he walked out to see Giroro standing on a stone slab along with Tamama, who cried out joyously when he saw him.

"S-sarge! Oh thank god!" He tried to move, but yet again, failed.

"Wh-what's going on?! Wh-why can't I move?!" Giroro looked around with wide eyes.

"It's ok Giroro, your just frozen in place... You'll be able to move when I get Kururu and Dororo out" Keroro pointed at the remaining three doors.

"Uh... What? But their..."

"Oh yea, their not dead..."

"Wh-what?!"

"Er, long story... Can't waste anymore time!" Keroro gave Tamama a hug before running to the third door.

Keroro quickly ran in "I really, really hope their still ok... After what Giroro did to himself... They could very well be in a worser shape..."

Keroro gulped as he saw nothing but words scribbled out onto the walls and floor of the hallway leading to the door. The writing was sloppy and words overlapped each other as if the writer couldn't see what he was writing.

The words were written in a variety of colors. Red, black, and white. Keroro couldn't read any of it.

Keroro shuddered and opened the door "h-hello?"

He looked in to see a yellow figure laying in the middle of the room, a dark aura surrounding him, along with even more writing.

"Kururu..." Keroro whispered and slowly walked forward.

But he didn't even go a foot when Kururus voice stopped him in his tracks.

"What? have you come to murder me to?"

Keroro flinched away as Kururu sat up, facing away from him "because that's all you know... Killing..."

Keroro covered his mouth as he turned to look at him, Kururu's eyes were completely covered in bandages, only his mouth wasn't. Keroro realized that he had his glasses, and the fact that Kururu always wanted to keep the color of his eyes a secret from everyone.

"Kururu, I know your angry at me, i-I'm sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing to ME?! You should be apologizing it DORORO!"

Keroro flinched away "I-I know that he was the cause of his death..." He sputtered "but... But... He didn't really die! He's alive!"

Kururu snarled "do you think I don't know that?!"

Keroro blinked "eh?"

"I'm smart! I know that I died, and when I did I woke up here! If it happened to me, it happened to everyone else..." He bared his horse teeth at Keroro "but thanks to you, we all have to suffer! Oh I used to LOVE pain! But NOW..."

He threw his arms out "I hate it! All the joy I had is gone! I'm empty! hollow!" His voice cracked and he looked down "I hate you! I hate you... I...I... I'll kill you!" He jumped up, making Keroro jump back and squeal "I'll rip your heart out ! I'll tear you in half!"

"K-Kururu!" Keroro cried as he scooted away from the enraged Kururu, who had started to blindly stumble over to him, arms out stretched and looking for something to grab.

"P-please! Listen to me! I can stop your suffering! I can get you out of here!"

"Just so you can kill me again!? I don't think so!"

Keroro cried out as Kururu charged at him. He jumped out of the way, letting Kururu hit the wall "Kururu, just listen to me! I..."

"FUCK... YOU!" Kururu ran at him again "I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL I WILL I WILL!"

Keroro let out a shriek as Kururu managed to grab his arm and throw him against the wall "a-aghh!"

Keroro struggled against Kururus iron grip as the scientist held him against the wall "k-Kururu... Please..." He squeaked "d-don't-"

he was interrupted by a fist hitting his face, making him scream and cry "nyyaghh!" He yelled as another fist hit him in the stomach.

"This is for Dororo!" Kururu punched him again "and everyone else that you have killed!"

Keroro fell to the floor and thrashed around, trying to defend himself from Kururus punched and kicks "he's gonna kill me! What do I do?! If I get killed here, everyone will die!"

Keroro searched for something to grab, and his hand soon grasped the bag he had brought in, yet he was in to much of a panic to think clearly. He reached into it and grabbed the first thing he could get a hold of.

The next thing he knew, there was a eardrum shattering BANG and Kururu was on the ground, holding his arm.

Keroro looked at his hand as saw the gun he had taken from Giroro was there.

Keroro gasped and dropped it, then looked at Kururu to see blood pooling around his arm "o-oh my god!" He cried "I-I shot him!"

Keroro tried his best to apply pressure to the wound, but he was still losing blood quickly "oh nonononono!"

Keroro looked around "oh god, what do I do?!"

He looked at the bag and shuddered to see that part of it was glowing. He reached inside and pulled out the statue wrapped in cloth, the statue within was glowing white "wh-wha..."

He looked around the room and gasped to see the figure hidden by shadow standing in the corner, Keroro stared at it "p-please..." He cried "h-help me!"

The figure soon disappeared, yet the state still glowed. Without thinking, Keroro pressed it against the bullet wound in Kururus arm, who was now going into shock.

"Oh I hope this thing is fucking magical!" He thought "oh please! Please help him!"

The statue glowed more fiercely, and Kururu suddenly gasped. Keroro squeaked and pulled the statue away as he felt something in Kururus arm move around, and suddenly, the bullet shot out of his arm with a wet POP and clattered against the ground.

Keroro jumped back and covered his mouth as the wound suddenly began to close up, soon, there was nothing there at all, not even the faintest scar.

Keroro looked at the statue "that actually fucking WORKED? Well shit!"

He looked at Kururu, who was oddly still "K-Kururu?"

Suddenly he stirred and groaned "ku...kuku... Kukukuku..." He laughed/coughed and clutched his arm "agh... Ku... What the... Hell?"

He turned his head in the direction of Keroro "did you just... Shoot me?"

"Er... Maybe..."

"Ku... Ku..." He looked down "Kukukukukuuuu! That felt nice~"

"wha- how does getting shot in the arm fell NICE?!"

"You'd be surprised" Keroro blinked as he saw Kururus mouth curl up into a rare smile.

"Wait... I shot him... And now he's back to normal?" Keroro thought "that's... Stupid... How does that even make sense?"

Kururu muttered something under his breath and sat up "fuck... Where the hell are my glasses...?"

"Oh! Yea!" Keroro pulled them out of the bag "their a bit cracked... But it's only on one lens. Sit still and I'll put em on for yo-"

"hell no, gimme them fuckers" Kururu blindly lashed out and snatched the glasses out of Keroros hands, making his squeak.

"Uh... Ok?"

Kururu turned away from him "don't you dare look"

"oh right... Your eyes..." Keroro looked away "s-sorry..."

"How did you even heal me like that?" Kururu asked as he started ripping the bandages that covered his eyes off.

"Uh... Magical statue" Keroro scratched his head "that no one must look at or their bodies will freeze in place..."

"Do you still have it?"

"Yea... But... I shouldn't give it to you..."

"Kukukuuu, what? You afraid I might look at it?"

"No... It's just... Ever since I got the stupid thing I've been..." He looked into the shadows where the figure once stood "seeing... Things..."

"Real or fake?"

"Must be pretty real if the fucking thing heals people"

Kururu finnaly turned around, the glasses now on his face "Kukukuuu~ what do you think? Am I back to my beautiful self?"

Kururu ment that as a joke, Keroro knew that, yet Keroro couldn't help responding "are you kidding? Your a mess" Keroro pointed at him "your dirty and possibly crazy!"

"'Possiably?' Oh dear, how awful! This place has turned part of me sain!" He grabbed his head in a exaggerated fashion "kukukuuu, ohhh the horror!"

Keroro sighed, then looked down "I... I'm sorry... I really am..." Keroro looked back up at him "I...I did kill everyone... They died because I was stupid... And I've been trying to save them..." Keroro sniffed "I-I've already gotten Tamama and Giroro out..."

"But not Dororo?"

Keroro flinched "n...no... I hoped I would find him first... But... I didn't..."

Kururu looked away "then why are you just standing there? Go get him"

"wh-when your saved... Your supposed to be teliported out of here..."

"Then leave me, come back later"

"I can't leave until your saved, that's the rule of this sick game"

Kururu snorted "well I don't know about you, but I'm fine"

Keroro looked at him "I don't think your being honest"

Kururu frowned "your an idiot... The stupidest frog in all of the universe... Yet in less then a few hours you've actually have started to act like a leader should... So tell me... Are you trying to save your own skin, or do you actually care?"

Keroro blinked, then looked down "to tell you the truth... I actually don't know..."

"Kukukuu... Maybe it's best that you don't..."

Keroro was a bit startled by that, but when he looked back up to ask why, Kururu was gone.


	65. Boss battle

Keroro expected to see Tamama, Giroro, and Kururu to be there when he walked out, instead he got Tamama, Giroro, Kururu, and the Caretaker. At first he freaked out becuase the caretaker was RIGHT IN FREAKING FRONT OF HIM but after recovering from the jumpscare and the fit of hyperventilation that claimed him as their victim, he looked up at him.

"Wh-why are you here?"

"I have been ordered to tell you something..." The Caretaker looked at the remaining two doors "something the creator of this game finds amusing..."

"Like what?"

"In every game that has different dungeons that you must travel through, there are different enemies..." The Caretaker looked back at Keroro "and then there is the boss level"

"uh... Ok?"

"Look, Your ninja friend-"

"Dororo" Kururu corrected from afar

"My apologies, Dororo, has been dead the longest... Meaning that he has been suffering the longest..."

"Oh GEE thanks for rubbing it in my face! I tried to get him first ya know!"

"I am aware. But this place wanted him to be last... For this will be the hardest challenge yet..."

"G-go on..."

"He is not like the others now, he is very closer to the edge of insanity... In fact, he is practically over it. Ready to jump in at any moment"

"o-oh shit!" Keroro started running to the door.

"Not so fast" the Caretaker blocked him "you need to be careful, if you make the wrong move, he will go insane, much like when you first got here, and you only survived because your friends were there... But now you are alone"

Keroro gulped "th-then I won't mess up! Dororo needs me!"

Keroro grabbed the bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder "do me a favor and explain this weird ass situation to my friends" he smiled at them "I can't keep Dororo waiting"

"of course... But think carefully about your actions..." the Caretaker turned away

"see you guys later!" Keroro smiled and went through the door.

Tamama stared at the Caretaker as the door slammed shut "uh... There's four of us... Right?"

"Yes..."

"So you only need four rooms... Right?"

"Correct..."

"Th-then why are their five doors?"


	66. Revenge

Keroro was surprised by what he saw.

A hallway, just like the ones from before...

But this one was clean, not a speck of dirt anywhere. Keroro gulped and slowly walked toward the door "I have to be careful... Very... Very careful..."

Keroro peeked into the door, and saw Dororo.

Unlike the others, he was standing, facing the corner. As Keroro entered, he slowly turned to look at him.

Keroro winced at the state of his friend. He showed no physical damage, yet his eyes seemed to say everything. They were wide and glazed over, his blue pupal was a normal size, but it was pale. and despite its dull appearance, it was also wild with some kind of hidden emotion... At best, he looked tired.

At worst, he looked crazy.

"You..." His voice was small and tired. He narrowed his eyes "you ruined me"

Keroro flinched "y-yes... Yes I did... I'm so... So sorry that you died... I-"

"no... Not THAT" he hissed "that wasn't your fault, that was mine"

Keroro blinked "h-he dosent blame me?" He thought.

"But..." Dororo curled his hands into fists "the rest of my life... You ruined..."

"Wh-what?"

"You broke all of my shit..." Dororos voice cracked "but most importantly... My music box... You RUINED it!" He held his head "aahhhhhhrrrggghhhh! Why didn't you tell me!? I sold my brother to PIRATES! My BROTHER!" He thrashed his head around, making Keroro take a step back "OOHHH I'm so ANGRY!" Dororo pointed at Keroro "YOU KILLED ME LONG BEFORE WE SET FOOT IN THIS HELL!"

Keroro was stunned, all this time he thought Dororo was angry at him, but not like this "he's crazy because I broke his music box?" Keroro bit his lip "I need a new strategy..."

"AAAANNNNNDDD YOU LIED!" Dororo stomped his foot into the ground "YOULIEDYOULIEDYOULIED!"

Keroro held his hands up "he's so angry... What can I do to make him listen?"

"D-Dororo, please listen to me... I..."

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY MY NAME! DON'T YOU DARE!"

Keroro squeaked as he and Dororo made unbreakable eye contact "and you have the nerve you face me?! ME?! I want you dead!" Dororo started stomping over to Keroro, making him scoot back "I WANT YOUR HEAD ON THE WALL!"

"O-oh god!" Keroro ran away to the other side of the room "I-I was stupid... I know that now! This place taught me something! I'm so sorry Dororo! I'm so sorry!"

Dororo froze "what? Your sorry?" He looked at him "you... Apologized... Once before..."

"Yes! Back on Pekopon! We can go back after this! We can find a way out!" Keroro pulled out Dororos katana, making his blue friend gasp.

"W- what?"

"I found it... You can have it back Dororo..." He handed the katana over to Dororo, who unsheathed it and stared at the blade "this...is mine..." He sputtered.

"Yea..." Keroro smiled "it's yours..."

"My sword... My Steven... (Did anyone get that joke?) I made it... Myself..."

"Yea, you did, didn't you?" Keroro chuckled "well, you got it back... It's not broken ether!"

Dororo looked at him "ahh... A-ahhhhh..." Dororo looked like he was close to tears, he held his arms out and started to stumble towards him as if to give him a hug.

Keroro smiled and held his arms out to met him "wow, he sure calmed down quick... I guess me saying sorry fixed everyth-"

his train of thought was suddenly interrupted as something suddenly shot by his head, and with a loud thunk, hit the wall next to him.

Keroro squealed and instinctively tried to get away from it, but his hat was caught on something. He looked over to see the blade of the katana stuck in the wall beside his head, pinning one of Keroros hat flaps to the wall.

Keroro looked at Dororo, who's fury had returned "you may be sorry for breaking my music box... But what about all that other shit you did?!" Dororo started to slowly walk over "it's time for you to pay Keroro... Today I get my revenge!"

Keroro gasped and tried to rip the katana out of the wall "what was I thinking?! I gave a crazy person a KNIFE! Not only that, I let my guard down!"

Keroro yelled and managed to break free, ripping his hat badly in the procces.

He ran away and to the door "I know the Caretaker said I wouldn't be able to leave... But it's the only chance I got!"

Keroro grunted and tried to open the door, the knob seemed to be locked in place.

Keroro looked back to see Dororo picking up the katana "give up Keroro... Your DEAD!"

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Kerorp gasped with relief, but then as he ran out, he blinked "wh-wha...?"

Instead of the clean hallway, there was a entirely different setting.

He was now in a fancy hallway with paintings and fancy peices of art on the walls "th-the fuck?"

"KEROROOOOO!"

Keroro screamed and shut the door, and threw a nearby table in front of it.

Keroro was about to start running when something caught his eye, underneath a fancy vase, there was a very, very tiny gold key. Keroro picked it up "uh..."

"KERORO! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Keroro squeaked and ran away, the key still in his hand.

He found several doors, but all of them were locked. All exept for a door at the held of the hall.

Keroro burst through it and closed it behind him "j-Jesus!" He cried as he heard the table being splintered "h-he's out! Eh?"

Keroro looked at the door to see a tiny keyhole "huh... Wait..."

He plugged the key into the hole and turned it just as something hit the door from the other side.

Keroro stepped back and sighed with relief as Dororo banged on the door "KERORO! LET ME IN!"

Keroro bit his lip and looked underneath the door to see Dororos face looking back. Keroro leaped back with a screech as the blade of the katana shot right under the door, threatening to stab him.

"YOU CAN'T STAY IN THERE FOREVER! IM THE BEST ASSASSIN THERE IS! I CAN WAIT FOREVER!"

Keroro looked at the room and gasped "wh-what the... This is..."

He was standing in what looked like a toy room, full of many, many playthings of all sizes and shapes. In the center, there was a sleek, wooden table with a music box sitting upon it.

Keroro went over to it "I-I reconise this place... This... This was Dororos house! And this..." He picked up the music box "b-but... I broke this... Why is this here? And why does it still look intact?"

Keroro bit his lip "what the hell is going on? Why is the house Dororo grew up in here...?"

"KE...RO...ROOO!"

Keroro squeaked and jumped away from the door, the music box still in his hands.

"IM DONE WAITING!" Dororo screamed and the katana suddenly slashed a large hole in the lock of the door.

The door burst open, revealing Dororo, his eyes cold and full of anger, the katana in his hand.

Keroro quickly hid the music box behind his back "y-yyeek!"

Dororo started advancing toward him " This is it... This is the day..." Dororo started laughing "ha...haha...hahahahaHAHAHAAA!" He started to run at him, the katana sharp as ever.

In a panic, Keroro screamed and held the music box out in front of him to shield himself.

Dororo skidded to a halt, his eyes wide "wh-what?!" He gasped "what is... That's my..."

The katana slipped from his hands and hit the floor with a clatter "my... My music box..." He squeaked and reached out to grab it "m-my precious music box!"

It was like time slowed down for Keroro, his mind was whirling and his throat dry "if I give it to him... Would he calm down? What if something happens? I don't trust this house... It just appeared out of nowhere..." Keroro watched as Dororo came closer and closer "but... It would make him happy... But it's not real! I BROKE the dumb thing!"

Keroro squeezed his eyes shut "ohh... What do I do?!"

Dororo was just a foot away when Keroro finally made a decision.

Keroro sucked in a breath, and in one, swift motion, raised the music box over his head and smashed it into the ground.


	67. The fifth door

Dororo stared with wide eyes at the heap of wooden splinters and bolts that once seemed to be his music box. Keroro looked at Dororo with half closed eyes.

"Y-you... Broke it..." Dororo sputtered

"it wasn't the first time..." Keroro muttered.

Dororo looked at him as he continued "I broke it before... When I was a kid... This..." He waved his hand at the room "this isn't your toy room... This isn't your house, we are not home, we are not safe, we are in hell... A hell that has a mind of its own and a power we may never understand..."

Keroro grabbed Dororos shoulders "listen to me, your pissed, I get that, I'm angry at myself too... And I am so, so sorry..." Keroros voice cracked, and he had to clear his throat "and... I promise... If we ever get out of here... Then... Then... I will buy you a new music box..."

Dororos eyes widened some more "wh-what?"

"I would buy... Another music box for you..." Keroro sniffed "and... And I won't forget... Not ever..." Keroro looked down "b-because... It's time I start acting like an actual friend..."

Dororo stared at him "you... You would?"

"Of course... Dororo, if this horrible, awful situation we're in has taught me anything... It's the fact that life isn't a game, it's not about who loses or who wins, it's about how you get to the end... And right now my life has been full of other people's suffering, and I never stopped to even look, not ONCE!"

Keroro looked away from Dororo "but you already know that, dont you? You've known all your life... Keroro sniffed and walked over to the katana Dororo dropped "I must be so pathetic in your eyes, huh?" Keroro picked it up "I can't do the right thing most of the time..."

He grabbed the katanas cover and and attached the two parts "and this may be the wrong choice... But..." Keroro handed Dororo the katana "right now... All that matters is your choice, not mine" Keroro smiled at him "do what you want Dororo, cus no matter what, I would agree"

Dororo stared at him, hours seemed to pass by as Keroro waited, a smile still on his face. Finally, Dororo moved.

Dororo reached behind him with the katana and set it on his rear, where it normally was. He then started to cry, silently at first, but it soon turned into loud, wet sobs. He wrapped his arms around Keroros neck and hugged him tightly.

Keroro smiled and returned the hug, patting him on his back "there, there... It's ok..." He whispered and let Dororo make a mess of his shoulder with his tears "it's ok... Its ok..."

Suddenly, the toy room vanished, leaving a clean hallway with no Dororo.

Keroro stared at the empty space in front of him, his eyes wide "did... I really do it? Did I saved them?"

Keroro felt himself cry "I-I did it! I DID IT!"

He was about to cheer to the sky when there was a loud rumbling sound "e-eh? What the-"

he was interrupted by a faint scream, he turned and saw the door that led to his friends "wait... No..."

He ran through it and gasped as he saw that the four stone slabs were gone, replaced by four massive holes.

Keroro looked over to the fifth door to see the Caretaker, looking down at the ground.

"Wh-what happened?! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

The Caretaker looked at him "I am so sorry..."

"Where are they?!"

"Through here..." He looked at the fifth door "please... Hurry..."

Keroro charged through without a second thought. He dashed through a black hallway and skidded to a halt as he entered a large room.

In front of him were four pillars, each one had a Keronian shaped figure tied to it, wrapped with so many bandages that their bodies were compleatly hidden. They were writhing around, letting out muffled screams and cries of fear.

Keroro took a step forward "n-no..."

"Oh yes~" purple smoke started filling the room, along with a cold, mocking laugh "you knew the rules of the game, you knew the punishment for losing"

"no... No I won... Didn't I?" Keroro whispered.

"Not...even...close!" The voice boomed, it's voice full of laughter "and now... Bath in their blood, for you alone were the one to spill it!"

"No! NO!"

Keroros vision suddenly went red, the air now wet and warm. He tried to hold up his hands as blood suddenly sprayed at him. The spray was so strong it knocked him down, and even more blood stared to land on him.

Keroro screamed and thrashed around, managing to stand for a second before falling back down. He held his head and cried, his tears getting washed away by blood, and above everything, there were four separate screams. The screams of those who Keroro had cheated death to save...

"No! _NO! **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_


	68. Chapter 68

The ghost girl in the red dress slowly walked down the hall, hours had passed since she had spoken to Keroro.

"Oh what a tragedy... Forgetting the goal of the game..." The girl sighed "were we wrong to hope?"

"Never, never wrong"

The girl blinked and looked over to see a figure standing in the shadows.

The girl frowned "why did you help him cheat? You know going against him would damage you, draining the energy you have gained over the years"

"sometimes we need to make sacrifices..."

"But wasn't it in vain?"

"No"

the girl looked down "how could you be so sure?"

"Sachiko" the girl shivered as the figure spoke her name "you, out of all people... Should know that nothing is in vain until the tragedy has been confirmed"

"But it has... Hasn't it?"

The figure turned away from her "no... Not yet..."

"Is that why your still trying?"

"Of course... You should be to... Don't you want to leave as well?"

Sachiko sighed "of course, I almost made it once too, thanks to... Them..."

"Yes... And it's like a broken record... Happening in every pocket... But this time, it WILL be different, this record will be fixed!"

"how can you be so sure?"

"You saw the way he acted, you saw the change... And you were one of the many to witness the two... Or should I say three... Combine... Might I add that both events ocurred at the same time? They are in sync"

"yet they are so far from even ATTEMPTING the-"

"yes, yes I am aware..."

"And you know they can't even try without knowing"

"that is why... When the fear is banished by THEM... Then I will tell him"

"everything?"

"Everything"

"and you really believe that they will succeed?"

"Yes, yes I do..."


	69. Organs

Tamama groaned, his head sparking with pain. He reached a hand up to rub it "oooowww..." He groaned and sat up "ngh... W-what the... Where am I?"

He opened his eyes and seriously regretted it. He squeezed them back shut and screamed, covering his eyes "o-ohh god!"

When he finnaly gathered the courage to look again, he almost vomited. He was sitting on a massive pile of meaty sacks, and as Tamama looked closer, he realized that they were stomachs.

Not just Keronian ones, Pekoponian ones were there to, along with Vipers and even Nyroros. One for almost every species known. Tamama clumsily slid off, gagging at the sight of several of them getting dragged down with them.

the room he was in was awfully small, and it stank of rotting meat and bile. Even more stomachs were nailed onto the walls, and one massive stomach that looked like it belonged to a elaphent was sitting against the wall, looking boated and ready to burst at the slightest touch.

Tamama covered his nose and squeezed his eyes shut "this is... Revolting!" He thought and made his way over to a door made of what looked like copper. He grabbed the door handle and gave it a little jimmy "fuck... Locked!"

Tamama looked at the giant stomach against the wall "jeez... What the hell did that guy eat before he died?"

Tamama went over to it, staying off to the side "ngh... Gross... But... I so wanna touch it!" Tamama groaned and while staying up against the wall, gave the part that was facing the door a little poke.

The moment Tamama made contact, it exploded outward, making Tamama squeak and jump back. Stomach acids and half digested food sprayed out, hitting the door and leaving what a mentally disturbed artist would call a masterpeice... but it was just an arrangement of shit that should never have been eaten.

Cans and other metal object were also in the heap on the door, but what caught Tamamas eye was a coat hanger. It was not grey and made of grey metal like it should have been, but like the door, it was made of copper.

Tamama frowned and pulled it out "odd... But I bet I can pick the lock with this..."

He hesitantly brushed what looked like a bit of half digested spaghetti off the lock of the door and stuck part of the coat hanger into it.

Suprisingly, the moment the coat hanger touched the lock, the door sprang one. Relived, Tamama stumbled on out "ooohh, fresh air!" Tamama looked to his left to see a door stained in blood, giving it a reddish color.

Tamama was about to go over to it, when something touched his foot, making him squeal and jump away. He looked down to see some stomach acid leaking out of the copper door, bringing with it a weird shaped leaf. Tamama frowned and looked back into the stomach room to see move leaves, and a red key sitting on them.

"Huh... That odd... I don't think that was there before..." Tamama picked up the red key "meh... This place has surprised me so much that its almost normal for shit to appear out of nowhere..."

Tamama went over to the red door and looked at the lock "wow, both the key and the lock are huge... Hm..." Tamama plugged the key in "well... It fits..."

Tamama unlocked and opened the door, and screamed and sprang away as a bunch of red bloody objects spilled out, which to Tamamas horror, turned out to be many, many hearts.

Tamama looked in and shuddered "h-hello?"

There were hearts beyond Tamamas capability to count. They went up to the ceiling, and they varied in size and shape, much like the stomachs.

Tamamas eyes widened as he saw part of the pile moving "o-oh god... Someone's in there!" He thought and tip toed closer "wh-whos there?!"

"Mmmphhhh!" Tamama heard a deep voice come from within. Tamama blinked "huh... That sounded like..." He looked at his hand "ohhhh... Fuck..." He squeezed his eyes shut and dug his hand deep into the mountian of hearts "uuuulllghh! Nasty!" He gagged.

Suddenly, something grabbed his hand. He squeaked and jumped back, pulling his hand out of the bloody heap and brining a bloody hand attached to his own, and with that hand came a familiar, bloodstained scarred face "G-Giroro!"

Giroro coughed and spit out a tiny mouse sized heart "a-ackk!" He hacked and continued spitting, his chest heaving "ohh... Ack..."

Tamama looked at him with wide eyes "G-Giroro! Are you ok?!" He went to his friends side.

"T...Tamama?" He looked at the tadpole, blood dripping down his face "what... What happened?"

"Uh... You were in a... Er... Lets just say you ok now!" Tamama patted his back.

"Wh-where... Where is Keroro?"

"Kero-" Tamama stopped, his mouth agape "sarge..."

Images of his sarge started flashing through his mind, him asking the tadpole for love, his friends appearing one by one by his side as he stood still on a playform, them his memory went blank "I... I don't know..."

Giroro groaned and rubbed his head "it... It tastes like I hate a raw fish..."

"Er... Close enough..." Tamama helped him stand "now, we need to... To..." He stopped as he turned to look at the stomach door.

Instead of being open like he left it, the door was closed, but that wasn't the weird part. What used to be a door made up copper was now a door made of gold.

Tamama stared at it "what... What... What..."

"HAAACK! HACK! ACCKK!"

Tamama turned to see Giroro holding his neck and retching "G-Giroro?!"

Suddenly, something yellow shot out of his mouth, and hit the floor with a cute little tink.

Tamama picked it up, it was a long, slender golden key "whoa..." Giroro, did you swallow this?"

Giroro coughed and looked at it "th- the fuck?! I didn't! If I did I would have choked to death! It was like... Like it appeared in my throat JUST a second ago!"

"Ok... That's weird..."

"That's all you can say? WEIRD?"

"Hey, there's a bunch of shit going on that's more crazy then that! I've got a copper door that just turned gold and the fact that sarge is no where to be found, neither is Kururu OR Dororo!"

Giroro coughed and sighed "ok...fine..."

"But... It looks like you just spit out the key to this thing..." Tamama tried to unlock the door with the golden key.

It opened slowly, and Tamama made sure to stay off to the side in case something came out. Giroro looked in a bit, then jumped away and held his nose "g-good god!"

"What?"

"I-I don't even know!" Giroro sputtered and dared to look again.

Tamama looked in as well to see a bunch of large, pink, meaty lumps.

Brains...

Tamama covered his mouth as the stench became overwhelming "ulgh... That's so gross!"

Giroro looked at him "ngh... Close the door!"

"N-no... Wait..." Tamama pointed at the top of pile, where something yellow was sprawled out.

Giroro looked up "isn't that... Oh you've GOT to be kidding me..."

Giroro hesitated before starting to ascend the pile, brains squishing and breaking apart under his feet, making repulsive noises that made Tamama gag.

When he reached the top, he grabbed the yellow thing and tried to get him down, but gasped as it slipped from his hands and tumbled on down.

Tamama managed to stop it and roll it to his back "K-Kururu! Wake up!"

Kururu groaned and looked at Tamama "w...what... Did someone just roll me down a hill?"

"Um... By accident of course..."

"Kuku..." He sat up "ngh... It smells like a monkeys ass!"

"Wait, how would you... Oh never mind..." Giroro clumsily slid down the mountain of brains to stand with them.

Tamama looked at the golden door "this was not the way I left it, this room used to be full of stomachs... Not brains"

"yea... That's a real downgrade" Giroro muttered and wiped some brain tissue off his shoulder.

"I'm very worried now... For all we know, that crazy heart filled room is gone now to!"

Kururu looked over at it "heart room? More like sea world"

Tamama and Giroro looked over and stepped back, the reddish door was gone, and replaced by what looked like a door made of pure sapphire, reflecting an unknown source of light from within the room, giving it a watery texture.

"See?!" Tamama finnaly cried after a long period of silence "This is the fucked up shit I'm talking about!"

Kururu tried to stand, but fell back down quickly "k-ku!" He cried and reached down to his waist.

"K-Kururu?"

"There a fucking... aaagh!" Kururu looked at them "A-Avert your eyes!"

Giroro and Tamama exchanged a look and then turned away from Kururu "eh... You ok?"

"n-no! Ngh!"

"You sound like your taking a shit" Giroro muttered.

"Just shut up!"

Kururu growled and stood up "there... Ok..."

Tamama looked over to see the scientist holding a blue key "oh... Cool"

Tamama went to take it, but Kururu whipped it out of his reach "oh no, I'll do it"

"huh?"

Kururu went over to the blue door, unlocked it, then came back and threw the key into the brain room.

"Man... He looks pissed... What's stuck up his butt?" Tamama whispered and opened the door.

The level of disgusting was suprisingly low, about 6 sets of lungs were scattered throughout a room, and in the center laid a blue Keronian.

"Oh! Dororo!" Giroro pushed past Tamama and knelt by his old childhood friend "come on, wake up!"

Dororo coughed and opened his eyes "ohhhh..." He groaned and reached up to grab at Giroro "m-mother?"

"Uh... No... Sorry, we're not home yet" Giroro pulled him up and dragged him out of the room.

Tamama closed the door as they got out "where's sarge?" He thought "is he... No... He couldn't be..."

Tamama looked down and sniffed as Giroro and Kururu worried about Dororo "we have to find him... We have to... He promised his love to me!"


	70. Trapped

No words needed to be spoken, for they were all taught the rules of the game by the Catetaker while Keroro was away and saving Dororo.

"The Caretaker said we would all die if Keroro failed..." Giroro muttered "but... We're ok... And Keroro is no where to be found..."

"it's like the opposite happened" Dororo looked around the tiny hallway they were in, that was no larger then three door lengths. The doors they had been going into and finding each other in were now long gone.

Both ends of the hallway hit a dead end, meaning that it wasn't a hallway and was really just a narrow room.

"It does seem like it..." Kururu frowned "since he's not here... It's like he failed... But since we're still alive, that's not the case..."

"D-did the Caretaker lie?" Tamama looked at everyone "I mean... He did say he was a servant to this dimension, he could easily lie for its benefit..."

"I don't think so" Dororo leaned back against the wall "I mean, I WAS the last person to be saved... And since I'm ok..."

"But there were five doors!" Tamama waved his hands around "when I asked the Caretaker about it, he ingored me! That's gotta mean something!"

"For all we know, that could have been the exit" Giroro shrugged.

"Kukukuuuu... One way or another, Keroro isn't here..."

"And there's no visible way out of here" Giroro looked at the walls "unless there is a secret door, we're as good as stuck"

"humph..." Kururu stood up "there's got to be a way out... Air has to be coming in from somewhere... Or we would have suffocated by now..."

"That is true..." Dororo looked at the ceiling "maybe an air duct or something..."

"Well, your the ninja" Tamama hitched a thumb at the ceiling "finding things is pretty much your thing"

"I could try... Bu-"

Dororo was suddenly cut off by a loud squeak from Tamama, who immediately jumped up from where he sat and looked down "e-eeek!"

They looked down to see water leaking out from the corner of the tiny room, as if there was an invisible source sitting right there. But the walls were strong and no gaps were to be seen "th-the fuck?!" Tamama rubbed his butt "h-how did we not notice that before it reached me?"

Before anyone could answer, the water started to flow out more strongly. In a matter of seconds it was lapping at their feet "um... This dosent look goo-"

The flow of water suddenly started spraying, Making everyone yell and jump away.

In just a minute, the water was covering their feet "ku! We need a way out of here! Now!" Kururu looked at the ceiling.

Dororo pulled out his sword and tried slashing at the walls "I don't know what these things are made of, but their strong as heck! I can't cut through!"

"Try the ceiling!" Giroro looked down to see the water was at their knees.

Dororo jumped up at hit it "no good!" He cried as he fell back down.

"W-We're gonna drown!" Tamama cried.

Giroro looked at him as the water reached their waists "w-wait! Hang on! Tamama!"

"Wh-what?!"

"Your Tamama impact! You can blast a way out of here!"

Tamama thrashed around in the water, clearly panicking "I-I can't!"

"Yes you can!" Giroro went over to him.

"But I'm not angry!"

"Then get angry!" Kururu yelled.

"I'm to scared!"

"Please Tamama!" Dororo sputtered as the water reached their shoulders "please!"

Tamama squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head around.

"Just think! What pisses you off the most?!" Giroro grabbed Tamamas shoulders.

"Uhhh... U-uhhh... M-Mois?"

"Mois? But she's such a nice girl" Dororo tilted his head to the side.

"N-nice?!" Tamama looked at him, his eyes a bit veiny.

"Uh... Yea... How could you hate someone so adorable?" Giroro looked down at the water as they needed to kick to stay afloat now.

"Sh-she's not adorable! She's EVIL!"

Kururu just stayed silent.

"Just because she tried to destroy the planet millions of times doesn't really make her evil..." Dororo coughed.

Tamamas eyes grew smaller "a-are you crazy?!"

"Yea, I find her to be quite an angel..."

"WHAT?!"

"She must be the nicest person I've ever met... She's especially nice to Keroro, heck, it's like their made for each other..."

A vein suddenly burst in Tamamas head.

"NONONO! HE'S MINE! SARGE IS MINE! NOT THAT WOMAN'S! MINE!" He screamed and thrashed around in the water, which was almost to the ceiling by now HE PROMISED ME! HE SAID HE LOVED ME! HE DIDN'T LIE! HE MENT IT! HE LOVES ME! NOT HER! IM HIS BOYFRIEND! HIS FUCKING CUTE ASS HOMOSEXUAL BI POLAR BOYFRIEND!"


	71. A new game

Everyone would have been staring at Tamama turning his little loud as fuck speech on Keroros love for him if it wasn't for the yellow glow that was coming from his mouth.

Just as the water reached the ceiling of the room, there was a golden blast that shook the whole room of water, and everyone was suddenly swept out from something above.

One by one, each one of them surfaced out of the water, which was suddenly created by Tamamas impact making a massive hole in the ceiling, now facing a dark, large room with a single six pointed star drawn on the wall in white paint.

Giroro coughed and hauled himself out of the water and collapsed onto the floor, and was quickly followed by everybody else.

Dororo looked at Tamama to see the tadpole in a daze, his mouth open and his eyes still tiny "uh... Tamama?"

Suddenly, his eyes were back to normal and he started coughing "a-agh..."

"Are... You ok?"

Tamama started coughing "n-no... Doing that underwater m-makes a hell of a difference..."

"Huh... The water stopped rising..." Giroro muttered.

"Kukukuuu... And lookie who's here"

Giroro looked up to see a cloaked figure "y-you!" He snapped "what the hell is going on?! Did you lie to us?!"

The Caretaker looked at them for a while before responding "the one who made the game set the rules, the rules were told to Keroro... But I was forced to not tell him the rules clearly, yet he understood it anyway... Most of it, at least."

"What does that mean?"

"the first rule was simple; 'to win the game, you must appease all that who has been killed by the player'" the Caretaker looked down "that is where your leader made his mistake..."

"Y-you mean he... Lost?"

The Caretaker sighed "it is difficult to explain... Let me show you..." The Caretaker walked across the room to the white six pointed star that was painted on the wall, which glowed for a second then dissapeared, along with a large section of the wall, revealing a long, dark hallway which the Caretaker started to walk down.

As the crew followed, the Caretaker began to talk "you friend did everything correctly... That made my master quite upset... You see, he wanted your minds to twist and break, but Keroro just did the opposite... He ruined the fun of watching you suffer..."

The Caretaker turned at a corner and went into a room "prepare yourselves"

"huh?" Dororo blinked "what do you... O-OH MY GOD!"

Giroro pushed past Dororo "wh-what?! What is it?!"

Giroro looked into the room and covered his mouth "h-holy fuck..."

There was no Caretaker, for he had vanished. But the room they were now facing was red, the walls, the ceiling, and even the floor was all painted red...

with real blood.

Four wooden posts sat against the wall, bloodstained bandages surrounding their bases. And in a far corner, sat a Keronian, covered in so much blood that its original skin color was unidentifiable from a distance.

"What the hell... Happened in here?" Kururu frowned and started to walk in.

Tamama covered his mouth and looked at the Keronian "uhhh... Is he... Dead?"

"h-hang on..." Dororo pulled Kururu back "let me check"

they watched as Dororo creeped along the ground, much like a ninja would, keeping his distance from the Keronian in case it was crazy and violent.

Soon, he got to its side, then after a good look, gasped and leaped away "NO!"

"D-Dororo?! What is it?!"

Dororo rushed back to its side "I-it's Keroro!"

"WHAT?!"

Giroro and Tamama were at his side instantly, looked down at their bloodstained leader "s-sarge!" Tamama cried and shook him.

Keroro did not respond in the slightest, he stayed silent and still as a stone. Curled up, facing the corner and hugging his knees.

"Hey... Keroro, it's us" Giroro shook him along side Tamama "th-this is not good..."

"Kuku... He looks like Dororo when he's in a trauma"

"oh... Yea..." Dororo frowned "l-look at his eyes, their... Just staring off into space"

"oh sarge! What did they do to you?!" Tamama wailed and hugged him.

"Yea... And what the hell happened in here?" Giroro looked at the blood covered walls.

"We happened"

everyone froze as four echoey voices came from the posts, and they turned to see four ghosts standing in front of them.

The odd thing wasn't that they had just appeared there.

It was the fact that each one looked exactly like a platoon member.

The ghostly versions of Tamama, Giroro, Kururu, and Dororo were staring at them with equally depressed eyes.

"We were killed by our master for the sake of entertainment" the Tamama ghost choked out.

"Because your friend was close to beating our masters own game" the Giroro ghost whispered.

"We were morphed and changed to look like you, to fool your friend into thinking you were dead... Driving him to madness" the Kururu ghost looked down.

"Because that was the final section of the game... Because your friend did not realize that he had killed himself, his old self" the Dororo ghost whispered.

"his... Old self?" Giroro blinked.

"Yes... He had to kill his selfish and lazy personality to save you, making it so he was both a victim and a player" the Tamama ghost said.

"That fifth door... Was really for him..." The Giroro ghost looked away and at the wall.

"But he did lose, so why is he still alive? Why are you alive?" The Kururu ghost asked.

"Because our master is still bored... He made a new game... And you have been spared to take part in it" the Dororo ghost sighed.


	72. Fear

"A-are you kidding me?!" Tamama cried "we're not toys! We can't just be played with like this!"

"Tamama, relax" Dororo patted him on the shoulder "lets just listen to what they have to say"

"I understand your fear" the Tamama ghost crouched down in front of Tamama "but you must listen, for your friend depends on it..."

"The previous game was designed to shake your leader up, only until the last stage, did the game succeed... Each stage showed signs of some of the worst of what we call 'the sins'" the Giroro ghost gestured to everyone in the order that they appeared in the game.

"Hate"

"Depression"

"Pain"

"Anger"

"and... Fear..."

"How is depression a sin?" Giroro frowned.

"Depression is just a tool to lead someone to suicide... It's practically murder"

"o-oh..."

"What does this have to do with this new game?" Kururu crossed his arms.

"Fear is by far... The most powerful of the sins... And it was the one that appeared in your leaders final test... The one he failed..." The Kururu ghost pointed at his fellow ghosts "he saw us die in the form of his friends, the fear that he had failed consumed him... Now he is trapped in his own mind, the sins feasting off his fear"

"Meaning that he is basically in a coma... I bet he can't even think for himself, several situations that represent fear in some way are flashing through his head, if you could stop them, he might come back" the Dororo ghost shrugged.

"That's the goal of the game?" Tamama asked "how do we even do that?"

"Do you know the rules of energy in this place?"

"Uh... No..."

"When someone dies here, they have no where to go, so they have no way to get reborn or shed their energy off someone else..." The Tamama ghost pointed at himself "so it builds up, until the spirit has enough power to move stuff physically, or even posses their own dead bodies and walk around..."

"When it gets EXTREMELY big... Then we can be able to control people's minds... And even force them out and put them somewhere new..." The Giroro ghost looked at Keroro "that is where we come in"

"our master has given us enough energy to... To put all your minds in Keroros head"

"wh...what?!"

"You can all go in there... And destroy his fear, then get out so his mind has room to regrow quickly..."

"that's sounds impossible..." Dororo whispered

"that's the game..." The Dororo ghost looked directly at Dororo "If you fail... Your minds get destroyed... And you ether die, or get swept into a coma yourselves..."

Everyone exchanged looks "kukukuuu... We should do it..." Kururu muttered.

"H-he's right... Keroro risked his life for us... We have to do the same for him!" Tamama hugged Keroro.

Dororo and Giroro looked at each other "Fine..." Giroro said.

"I-I'm going in to..." Dororo gulped "b-but I'm still scared..."

"Do not worry... The transaction will be painless... I think..."

"W-wait! What do you mean 'think?!'"

"This is the first time this has ever happened, so we don't know"

"how do you know if it will work then?!"

"Just a guess"

"WHAT?!"

"But it seems that you've already decided to go... So, good luck..."

"Wait! Hand on! You can't ju-"

Giroros voice, along with everyone else's, was suddenly silenced as the ghosts began to glow, then they fell to the floor like rag dolls.

"Do you think they will succeed?"

"Our master hopes so"

"He hopes?"

"Yes, for if they win, he can continue to play"


	73. Into the mind

Kururu groaned and opened his eyes to see nothing but blackness. At first he thought he was somewhere dark, but that theory was soon busted the moment that he saw his friends laying next to him, perfectly clear as if in light.

He sat up and looked around, it wasn't a black room, it wasn't ANYTHING, just an empty space that seemed to have no darkness, yet only he and his comrades were the only things that seemed to be touched by an unknown source of light.

he reached over to touch Giroro, but was surprised to see that he was already moving "nnghh... What the ffuuucckk?" He moaned and held his head.

Dororo and Tamama soon began to start moving around as well, Dororo sat up and looked around "wh-what the hell... Where are we..."

"Kukukuuu... Exactly where the ghosts said we would be..." Kururu stood up "we're in Keroros mind"

Tamama shuddered "I-it's so... Empty..."

"Yea..." Giroro stood up as well "I thought there would be alot more in here..."

"Kukukuuu... I've seen something like this before..." Kururu frowned "it's some kind of condition that soldiers get after experiencing a trauma... The mind gets damaged and focuses on the last thing the person feels, then discards the rest of the emotions and spends all of the persons brain energy on it..."

"Uh... I've never heard of that before" Dororo tilted his head to the side.

"It's something they recently discovered... But... It only appears in Spactulians"

"eh?"

"Forget it, just imagining a big tree with only one branch, thats tainted with ivy, that's what Keroros mind is like right now"

"So... Tear out the ivy..."

"And the rest of the branches grow back" Giroro finished Tamamas sentence for him "but... How do we do it?"

"Kukuu... Simple, our metaphoric ivy is flowing with metaphoric steroids, making the fear branch stronger, but only where it's latching on. Destroy those certain points and it falls right off"

"and... How do you know all this?"

"Kukukuu... When you have 5 PHDs in both medical and electrical fields, you tend to know alot"

Dororo blinked "just 5?"

Giroro looked at him "and that's not impressive enough?"

"Well, those who have IQs that are as great as Kururus tend to have at least 7"

"kukuuu... To busy watching porn to care about expectations"

"oookkaaayyy then..." Tamama held his hands up "lets just... forget about this conversation, and try to help the sarge... Ok?"

"Uh... Good idea..." Dororo looked around into the nothing "so... Any ideas on how to find its strongest poin-"

Tamama looked at him as Dororo suddenly froze "D-Dororo?"

"Wha... Wha... What the heck is that?!" Dororo pointed past Kururu.

Kururu turned to see something faintly glowing white off in the distance, it was very faint, yet it was strong enough to show the outline of a dark figure, covered in shadow.

"Th-the hell?" Giroro narrowed his eyes "who is that?"

The figure stared at them for a while, then turned and began to walk away.

"H-hey!" Giroro started to run after it.

Dororo and Tamama stared at him "uh... Giroro?"

Giroro blinked and looked at everyone, who was keeping up with him, yet they were not even moving.

Giroro looked down at his feet "wh-what?!" He panted "what the fuck is going on?!"

"Your... Just running in place!" Dororo tried running at a much faster speed, yet he stayed at Giroros side "uurrgg!"

Tamama looked back to see that both the figure and the light was gone "d-dang it! It's gone!"

Giroro stopped trying to run and hs his knees "I-I don't get it... I don't..."

"Kukukuuu... It seems we wern't ment to follow it..." Kururu frowned "I don't think it has anything to do with the game..."

"Th-then why was it here?!"

"Maybe it was a sign?" Dororo stopped running as well "or a taunt of some kind?"

"Hmmph..." Tamama crossed his arms "I don't like it..."

"Lets just... Start trying to help Keroro" Giroro looked around.

"With what?! There's nothing here! And as far as I can tell, we're stuck in place!"

Just as Dororo finished speaking, a loud bang was heard, making everyone cry out and cover their ears "o-ow!" Giroro looked around "th-that sounded like a gun..." He froze "o...oh... My... God..."

"What?" Kururu looked where he was looking "ku... Kukuuu... That's..."

Tamama looked over as well and covered his mouth "n...no way..."

Standing a few feet away from them was a red Keronian, holding a gun at a green keronians head.

BANG!

everyone watched in horror as blood squirted out of the green Keronians head as he dropped dead. But in a fraction of a second, the whole scene reset and a bullet went through his head once more.

"Th...that's... That you, Giroro!" Dororo pointed at the red Keronian "and... Your shooting Keroro..."

"Kukukuuu... That's not really them..." Kururu frowned as the scene once again reset "it's what Keroros thinking about... This is one of his fears"

Giroro couldn't look away, the other him had the facial expression of a bull with a red flag draped in front of its face. Fangs bared and his finger pulling the trigger with no hesitation.

"Is he really scared of me that much?" Giroro squeezed his eyes shut as the constant bang of a loaded gun hit his ears "does he really think I would shot him like that?"

Tamama suddenly let out a whimper, making Giroro look over at him. He stopped dead to see that the private was looking at a much more hideous sight that had appeared about 2 yards away.

Another version of Keroro was writhing around on top of him, two Keroniams holding him down. One dark blue, the other yellow.

Giroro shuddered as Tamama and Kururu slowly killed Keroro, Kururus hands at their leaders neck and Tamamas feet constantly striking Keroros crotch and stomach. Dororo covered his eyes "ohh no... No..." He sank to his knees "this can't... This can't be what he's thinking about... It can't be..."

Several images started to appear around them, flooding the entire space with horrific noises. Bullets flying, metal on bone, the gasps of someone desprate to hang onto life, the sounds of death and pain, but most of all...

the sound of fear...


	74. Sea of pain

The only good that the horrifying scenarios did was that they made a way for the platoon to tell if they were moving or not, which they now could.

In silence they walked, clinging to one another for comfort. It wasn't just them that they could see, there was several other people. Natsumi, Momaka, Koyuki, Saburo, Mama Aki, even Fuyuki. Plus every single person that Keroro ever met, past bullies, past friends, everyone had some way of killing him.

Not only that, but each death was horribly gruesome in some way, some people even raped him before brutally murdering him. Dororo shrank away as he saw Keroros own mother crushing him with what looked like a hammer.

"Make it stop... Make it stop... Make it stop..." Dororo squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears.

Kururu grabbed Dororos shoulder "just keep walking..."

Tamama whimpered as they passed what looked like a zombie version of Dororo hacking off Keroros arm "o-oh god... I can't believe he's seeing all of this..."

"Kukukuu... These are just the weaker points... They'll vanish when the stronger points are destroyed"

"If this is the weak shit... I can't imagine what the strong ones look like..." Giroro narrowed his eyes "and how we can get rid of them..."

"Most likely, we need to kill them with something" Kururu looked around at the horrible images that were constantly repeating.

"Like... What?" Tamama looked at him, fear in his eyes.

"I don't know" Kururu looked at Dororo as he began to cry "but I'm guessing its going to be something challenging..."

"Erk!" Giroro stopped, making Tamama cry out and crash into him.

"What?" Kururu looked past the now shivering corporal to see something quite different from the things that already sorounded them.

The crowd of images seemed to come to a stop, creating a long edge that stretched far into nothing on both sides.

Everyone scooted out of the field of images and into the new clearing, then looked back at the sea of pain and suffering.

"Wh-what is this?" Dororo sniffed and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

"Kuku... This is the start of the game" Kururu turned around and frowned at the new space "there has to be something..." He suddenly stopped "h-here..."

Everyone looked at what made the scientist falter and took a step back. Looming over them were four doors, each one made with black stone. Tamama covered his mouth "wh-wha... How...?"

Giroro clenched his fists "this is just like before..."

Dororo squeezed his eyes shut "o-oh god..."

Kururu stared at the doors, they seemed to be attached to nothing, there was no walls that it was built into, but those doors defiantly led somewhere.

"Ku... This is it... This is the sequal to the first sick, sick game..."


	75. My love for you

Tamama stared up at the door in total, absolute fear. Beyond those foreboding, stone doors, would be nothing but the pain and suffering of his sarge.

He could hear Dororos breath coming out in pants, he was clearly freaking out "th-those weren't there before!" He cried.

"No, they weren't..." Giroro grabbed his shoulder, trying to calm him down "relax... We won't go through them yet..."

"Wh-whaaaaat?!" Dororo looked at him with wide eyes "th-those things just appeared out no where! We can't trust them, yet you think it's ok to just waltz on through?!"

Giroro blinked "well... When you put it that way..."

"Kukukuuu... Yet the longer we wait, the harder and stronger his main fears will become..." Kururu frowned.

Tamama squeezed his eyes shut as several seconds passed by, a heavy silence practically crushing him, making his mind whirl.

"Sarge... Oh my beloved sarge..." Tamama covered his eyes "your in so much pain... Yet we can't even get a stragety down! Ohhh... What do I do?!"

Several minutes went by, everyone was looking down, trying to think, but Tamama could not stand the silence, it aloud his imagination to wander, to focus its darker side on the sarge.

Tamama started to cry, silently at first, but it was soon growing to be noticeable. Tears falling and splashing against the ground, and his shoulders jerking with each wet sob.

"All I wanted was your love... And I got it, I finnaly got it... But you only noticed because of this game! Is this really the price of your love? All of this pain and fear? Is it really worth it!?"

Tamama wiped his tears away and looked up to see everyone looking at him with a worried expression on their faces. But he didn't mind that they could see him like this, he didn't care.

Tamama clenched his fists "you risked your life for me... For us... How can I just ignore all the things you did? I'm so scared that my legs are shaking, I don't think I could walk even if I tried... But isn't that exactly what you felt? Then how did you do it?"

Tamama looked at the doors "how did you put your fear aside? I don't understand... Is it because you wanted to be an actual leader for once? Is it because you had something to prove?"

"Or was it the guilt?"

Tamama looked at the door closest to him "it hurt, in fact, It's like it still does... The burn in my lungs... My throat... It's true that you couldn't save me... And it's true that everyone else's deaths were your fault as well... When you played the game, was your guilt the thing that kept you going?"

"What does that mean for me? What do I need to get going? What do I need for fuel?"

Tamama sniffed, then narrowed his eyes and started walking to the first door.

"Maybe... Maybe I need... My love..."


	76. Greed

It happened so quickly, first he was in a world of nothing with the screams of his lover in the background, then he was in total darkness, silence looming over him.

Tamama let out a squeak and looked behind him. The door he had just went through was there. He was now beyond it and in the unknown...

He had just started the game...

Tamama shuddered and looked ahead of him, he was in a very narrow, long room made of stone, a wooden door was built into the wall to his right.

Tamama looked at it and blinked as he saw a tiny bit of light coming from underneath it, and he could hear something from behind it.

Tamama pressed his ear against the door and shuddered as the strange noise continued. It was as if someone was striking something else at a constant rate, the sound was soft, yet it almost had a hint of wetness in it.

Tamama bit his lip and looked down at the light again to see something sticking out from under the door, blocking some of the light.

Tamama crouched down "a... Doorstop?" Tamama frowned as he realized it had been placed from the other side of the door, making it so that he could not push it open.

Yet the door was designed in a way to be opened by both a push and a pull, meaning he could easily just pull and the doorstop could easily be forgotten.

Yet it still seemed very fishy, so Tamama, using his pinky, reached down to the doorstop and began pushing it out from under the door.

He shuddered as the moment the doorstop was free, the wet, soft smacking sound stopped.

Tamama stared at the doorknob as he stood up "did I do something wrong?" He thought and whimpered "what should I do now? Should I open it fast or slow? Going slow may be safer... But still..."

Tamama squeezed his eyes shut "ohhh boy..."

Tamama grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and thrust it open as fast as he could.

The door kept going even after he let go, and it sounded like it hit something, and carried it to the door where Tamama heard a sickening, wet crunch.

Tamama froze and kept his eyes shut "what was that?!" Tamama shuddered and turned back to the door and opened one of his eyes.

The moment that he saw what it was, both of his eyes flew wide open and he screamed, falling back and onto his rump.

A green Keronian was stuck against the wall by the door, and the doorknob had been shoved into his eye, making it collapse and letting blood gush out.

Tamama covered his mouth as he recognized a part of the Keronians face that stuck out from the door "s...sarge?!"

The Keronian that looked exactly like Keroro gazed back at him with emotionless eyes, a massive, blood splattered hammer in his limp grasp.

Tamama grabbed his head "oh... Oh my god... Sarge! SARGE!" He was about to leap towards him, but he stopped himself "w-wait... No... Your not sarge... I'm in sarges MIND! How can he be in his own mind?!"

He froze as he heard something from behind, and he slowly turned, his eyes slowly widening "wh...what?!"

Laying in the center of the small room was a dark blue tadpole, and the state it was in was horrid. It's arms and legs were bent at several different angles, blood oozing out of the places where it's broken bones broke the skin.

Tamama took a step back as he looked in between its legs, where blood was oozing out at a steady pace, along with a thick, white liquid.

But the most shocking of all, it looked exactly like Tamama.

Same hat, same symbol, same eyes, same everything.

Tamama looked at it in horror "that's... That's me... B-but... I'm me... H-how... Why?!"

He looked back at the fake Keroro "what's going on?! I..." He stopped as he eyed the hammer once more "w...wait... Did... You..." He looked back at his copy, and his eyes widened as he saw the white liquid "no... No way... You..."

He covered his mouth "did he... No... No why would a copy of sarge... Hurt what looks like me!? And why would he... Why would he rape him?!"

Tamama stared at hammer, his rage starting to boil "did he do this... Just for the sex?!"

Tamamas eyes started to grow tiny and veiny "you... You... You greedy basterd! My sarge would never do that! That just proves your not him!"

Tamama suddenly lashed out and snatched the hammer away from him, he could see that the sarges copy was still breathing, obviously in pain from his crushed eye, yet he didn't make a sound.

Tamama looked at his reflection in the bloodstained steel of the hammers head, he could see his own anger and every single vein in his eyes "he's nothing but a monster... He's willing to hurt someone like this... Just for THAT!"

"Ooohhh I'm so angry! This is not love! This is nothing I would ever want! No one should!"

Tamama started to raise the hammer "you don't deserve any mercy... Not after what you have done!"

Tamama screamed and started to bring the hammer down "DIEEE!"

It was over in a flash, Tamama fell backward and onto his butt again as he gazed upon his work. The hammer was buried deep in the fake sarges skull, blood and brains splattered everywhere, Tamama looked down at himself to see that he had also been splattered.

Tamama tried to look away, but couldn't. He soon started to gag and retch, until finally, he turned his head to the side and threw up onto the floor.

After he stopped spitting and coughing out the remaining bile that was coating his throat and mouth, he held his shoulders and started shaking "I... I just killed someone..."

He bit his lip and looked at his own copy, then gasped and jumped up as he saw it shift ever so slightly, a groan coming out of its mouth "it... It's still alive?!"

Tamama stared down at it, his eyes wide "he must be... In so much pain... How is he not unconscious yet?"

His copy's eyes were lidded, his pupal glazed over and somewhat small. He looked up at the real Tamama and coughed, tears streaming down his face.

"Uhh... Uhhh..." Tamama crouched down by it "I-it's ok... Uh... I... Don't... Don't cry..." Tamama looked around "wh-what do I do?!"

"H..." Tamama winced as his copy started trying to talk "he...he..."

"Please, don't waste your strength!"

"H-hel..." His copy ingored him and kept on trying to communicate "h...help... Me..."

Tamama felt like someone had just punched him in the gut "I... I don't... I don't know how!"

"H...hel...p..."

"I just said that I don't know how!" Tamama cried "I don't know how to fix you!"

His copy was still for a second, then started to try and talk again.

"K... I..."

Tamama blinked "h-huh?"

"K...ki...ll... M... E..."

Tamama froze "wh-what?! No! No I can't just..."

"Kil...l... Me..."

"I can't kill you! I can't!"

Tamama covered his eyes "what the hell is wrong with me? This thing isn't real... It's not me! Then why am I getting so... Attached?"

"P... P-Please... Kill... Me..."

Tamama looked at him again, he was clearly in lots and lots of pain. But was death really the answer?

Tamama looked back at the sarges copy and eyed the hammer "would killing him... Actually help?"

Tamama started to stand up "would everything be fixed... If he died?"

"K...kill... Me..."

Tamama squeezed his eyes shut "but... He's just like me! How can I kill what is practically myself?!"

He started to cry "why did this have to happen?! WHY?!"

He punched the ground and screamed "I don't want any of this! I just want my sarge!"

His copy suddenly retched and started to cough up blood "h-haaaccckkk!"

Tamama shrieked and jumped away "e-eeeeek!"

He looked back at the door, where the fake sarge lay dead, staring at him with lifeless eyes that seemed to mock him.

"How does it feel?" Tamama froze as a voice whispered in his ear "to be a murderer?"

Tamama clenched his fists, growing angry "I wouldn't know... In not a murderer..." He pointed at the fake sarge "because your not real!"

He didn't care that he was responding to what could have been nothing, he had no regret.

"You were nothing but pure greed! That's what sarge is afraid of! He doesn't want to hurt me for self gain! He's afraid of becoming a monster, just like you!"

Tamama went over and ripped the hammer out of his head "I hate you... But your dead now... You have pain the price for your actions..."

Tamama looked at his copy "but... You have now led someone who was innocent... To a place of suicidal thoughts..."

"But maybe it's just the pain that's talking... He could still want to live..."

"You can't see his eyes! Your nothing but a voice!" Tamama bared his teeth at open air "I can see the desire in his eyes! He wants it because of you!"

Tamama looked down at his copy "oh... I'm so sorry... That he has done this..."

Tamama squeezed his eyes shut "and... I don't... I don't want to do this... I don't!"

He raised the hammer over his head.

But before he could bring it down, he opened his eye a tiny bit to see that his copy's eyes were closed, a smile on his tear stained face.

"Th...ank... You..."

**_CRUNCH!_**


	77. Faith

Giroro stared at the door Tamama had rushed through. The tadpole had given no warning prior to his mad dash for the door, and now everyone was worried sick for it felt like hours since he had gone in.

He looked at Dororo and Kururu, who were sitting next to each other right by Giroros feet. Dororo was shaking and hugging his knees, his eyes wide and his blue pupals shaking ever so slightly.

Kururu, on the other hand, was sitting calmly. Staring strait ahead into the nothing.

Giroro bit his lip and closed his eyes, the images of Keroros fears were still loud as ever, but to everyone's dismay, everybody was getting used to it.

Giroro reopened his eyes "oh... Tamama... What the hell are you doing in there?"

He blinked and looked at the door "hm?"

He blinked again, then again, and then once more "wait... What?"

For a second, it seemed that the door Tamama had gone through had started to open, but the moment Giroro blinked, it was shut.

"Stupid hallucinations..." Giroro muttered and started to look down and away.

But he stopped just as he looked down.

At the foot of the door, something black was sprawled out on the floor, a yellow hat making it stand out.

"T-TAMAMA!" Giroros yell made Dororo scream and jump a foot in the air, Kururu just calmly looked over and at the black tadpole that lay before them.

Giroro dove down to crouch over the private, pressing his fingers to his neck so he could find a pulse.

Giroro sighed with relief as he could feel Tamamas neck gently pounding against his fingers "oh thank god... But... Where did he come from?"

Kururu went to Giroros side, Dororo was close behind "is he ok?" The ninja bit his finger.

"he's alive..." Giroro looked up at them "I think he's just uncounsious..."

"T-Tamama?" Dororo knelt beside the private "oh god... Please wake up..."

But he didn't, his heart continued to beat, and everyone could see that he was breathing, but the tadpoles eyes did not open. He looked relaxed, as if he was dreaming peaceful dreams with nothing to interfere.

Giroro looked at Kururu. "Wh-what now?"

"Kukuuu... What do you think? We need to finish the game" Kururu frowned at the remaining three doors.

"W-we should just leave Tamama?!" Dororo cried, his eyes wide.

"We'll go one at a time, so someone's always here..." Giroro looked back at Tamama "but I don't think he's in any danger..."

Dororo looked down "b-but..."

"But what?" Giroro looked at him.

"But... What if we each come back like this?!" Dororo pointed at Tamamas sleeping face "then when the last person goes, we'll have a bunch of sleeping people left all alone!"

"Ku... We're in no danger..." Kururu went to Dororos side, making him squeak "we won't be killed unless we lose the game..."

"He has a point, Dororo" Giroro patted his old childhood friend on the shoulder "you shouldn't worry..."

Dororo sighed and looked down "I still don't trust any of this... I can't..."

"Look, just think it over..." Giroro looked at the door "but if we don't hurry... Keroro..." His voice trailed off, his eyes darting to Tamamas sleeping face "we... We just need to get this over with... I have no idea how Tamana won... But..." He looked at Dororo "we've still gotta try... Right?"

He patted his friend on the shoulder and looked at Kururu, then back at Dororo "we have to have faith in each other, if we don't... Then... We won't succeed..." He gave Dororo a little smile, before walking to the second door.


	78. The dungeon

Giroro stared with wide eyes at the hallway he was now in.

It was as if he had just walked into a dungeon, little yellow lamps hung from the walls, casting everything in a eerie, pale yellow glow.

Giroro slowly started waking down the hall, shivering as he stepped onto the cold stones, the lamps doing little to warm him.

Giroro looked around, the dungeon like hallway split off into even more hallways, like a maze, yet Giroro stuck to the main path he had started in, until he came across a fork in the road, one going right, one going left.

Giroro looked at his choices and frowned "j-jeez... What the hell is this place?" Giroro went right "it's like a prison... But it seems empty so far..."

Soon the hallway started to get wider, and it started to split off again and again, but Giroro kept on going on the main path, only turning if the main path rounded a corner.

But soon that path stopped, giving Giroro several more paths to follow. Giroro was bewildered at the complexity of the building he was in "how far does it go? I can't afford to get lost in someplace like this..." Giroro bit his lip and went down the one to the far right.

Giroro looked around as the new hall he was in started to twist and turn, many more forks in the road were forming as he went deeper and deeper, and soon, Giroro stumbled upon a door.

It looked old, wooden, and beat up. Giroro stared at it, his mind whirling "this crazy maze keeps on going after this..." He looked down the hall that he had yet to explore "but... There's something about this door..." Giroro looked back at the door "it's like...there's something in there that I need to see..."

Giroro clenched his fist and grabbed the rusty old doorknob "oh god... What is this going to be...?"

Giroro took a deep breath and pushed it open.

Giroro stopped dead, his eyes going wider then ever before.

It was a large room lighted with even more lamps, and against the far wall, the wall that Giroro now faced, was a tall wooden cross attached to the wall. And nailed to that cross was a red Keronian... A red Keronian with a belt and a scar running down his left eye...

Giroro had no words that he could possibly say, no means of expressing his shock, horror, or confusion on why there was an exact replica of himself nailed to a cross, but his copy looked very dead, blood was still dripping down and onto the floor from the wounds that the nails had left when they had been hammered into his hands.

Giroro looked at his face, his eyes were lidded, and his steel grey pupals were dull and lifeless, but it was clear that this clone of Giroro had died just moments ago.

Giroro stared at the scene for a while before slowly backing out and closing the door, he then started sprinting away, almost crashing into a worse for wear cabinet that was beside the door "holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck..." Giroro thought "what the fuck was that?!"

Giroro rounded a corner and stopped to catch his breath "that... Was me... And I was... Dead... Why the hell was there another me?!"

He looked into the unknown part of the dungeon "I don't understand... Is this what Tamama dealt with as well?"

Giroro was about to start walking again, when he heard something from deep within the maze.

It was the sound of footsteps...

Footsteps that were slowly getting louder...

Giroro froze as he saw someone round a corner and enter the hallway from the opposite side, someone green.

"K-Keroro?" Giroro sputtered as he saw his childhood friend turn to face him from far away at the opposite side of the hall, something black and long in his hand.

"What the heck? Why does he have a crowbar... And why is he here?!" Giroro narrowed his eyes as the one he presumed to be Keroro started walking towards him. He looked tired, stumbling as he walked, but there was something else, something that made Giroro want to leave the moment he saw it.

Anger.

He looked pissed, pissed and tired. His eyes narrowed and his teeth bared "you... You stupid... Why did you come back?!"

Giroro took a step back "wh-what are you talking about?"

"I can't stand you! You keep coming back no matter how many times I put you away!" Keroro pointed the crowbar at him "but this time I will make it different! You won't come back after this!"

Giroro widened his eyes as Keroro started to run at him, yelling and spitting out insults. Giroro spun around and started to sprint away, back around the corner and back into the hall with the cabinet and the door.

"Oh god oh god!" Giroro looked back to see that the enraged Keroro had not yet rounded the corner after him "this isn't normal! What did I do to piss him off so much?!"

Giroro leaped into the cabinet and held its old door shut from the inside, several tiny holes were in the wood, making it so that he could see out, but the darkness within the cabinet made it so nothing could see in through the holes.

Giroro did not have to wait long for Keroro to come his way, the green Keronian skidding to a halt as he stopped by the door "oh... He hehee..." Giroro shuddered as Keroro banged the crowbar against the floor "do you really think I'm that dumb? You wouldn't hide in that room I know you hate it!" Giroro froze as he could see Keroro looking at the cabinet "this is the only place you would hide if you wernt running!"

Giroro squeezed his eyes shut "oh god... I didn't think this through!"

BANG!

Giroro blinked and looked out to see that the door was open, yet Keroro was far away from it.

Giroro covered his mouth to keep himself from gasping as something red shot out.

Keroro froze at the sight of Giroros copy, but this one was much different, it was very much alive, and it's hands had no nails in them.

The copy screamed as it saw Keroro and dashed by him, and deep into the unknown part of the maze.

Keroro was still for a second before yelling and running after it "YOU COWARD! HOW DARE YOU TRICK ME LIKE THAT! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Giroro jumped out as Keroro vanished "w- what... What... What..." He sputtered, his mind whirling "I don't... What just happened?!"

Giroro turned around and started running back the way he came, starting to freak out "that defiantly was not Keroro... He would never act like that... But why as there another me?!"

Giroro stopped and leaned against the wall "uunnghh... I-I think I might be going crazy..."

He shook his head "no... No... I can't... I have to save the real Keroro..."

Giroro froze as he heard a screech from the direction of the door, which was silenced as there was also a loud crunching sound.

Giroro shuddered as he then heard something being dragged in his direction. Then he heard the door open.

Giroro scooted back over to the corner that led around to the door and peeked at what had opened it.

He covered his mouth as he saw the seriously pissed Keroro dragging a limp, red body into the room "no more... No more... I want you to stay up there forever! No more coming down! No more taunting me like that!"

Giroro looked away and covered his ears as he could hear nails breaking bone as they drove through his copy's hands "stay dead! Stay dead unlike Jesus you spawn of satan! Stay dead!"

Giroro shrank away and out of view as Keroro came out "unholy peice of shit... How dare he go up against me like that!"

Giroro listened to his quiet muttering as he walked away, and as both he and his voice vanished around the corner at the end of the hall, Giroro snuck over to the door and looked in.

Sure enough, Giroros copy was there, nailed to the cross once more, but this time he had a caved in head. Giroro stared at the bloody mess with nothing but horror in his eyes "why... Why is this happening?" He whispered and went over to the base of the cross "I don't understand... I was meant for physical battle... Not mental crap like this stupi-" Giroro broke off and jumped back with a gasp as the nails embedded in his copy's hand suddenly popped out, letting his copy fall down to the ground below.

Giroro sprang away as his copy's body's hit the ground with a thud, and in a mere second, all of its wounds were gone.

Giroro watched in amazement as he suddenly pushed himself up and looked at Giroro, his once dead eyes were now alight with life and utter fear. It jumped up and ran by Giroro and out of the room, leaving Giroro absolutly dumbfounded.

Giroro put a hand on the cross for support and rubbed his head "ok... Ok... Calm down... Just calm down... Your a solider... Don't lose your cool..."

Giroro looked up at the cross "why is there another me? And why is Keroro trying to constantly kill him?" Giroro blinked "come to think of it, he tried to attack me to... But what did I ever do to him?"

Giroro closed his eyes "is this what he's afraid of? Killing me out of disgust and hate? But... Maybe it's not just me... Maybe it's just the fact that he's scared of being corrupted? I mean, he is using religious symbols for his brutal killings..."

Giroro sighed and stepped away from the cross, slowly starting to walk to the door, his head down and his eyes still closed "heck... I don't even know anymore..."

He was about to look up when his face hit something. He cried out and fell back and onto the ground, instinctively reaching up to grab his face "w-what the-"

he opened his eyes and froze, Keroro stood before him, crowbar out and covered with blood "you... I TOLD YOU TO STAY!" Keroro screamed and raised the crowbar above his head.

Giroro gasped and leaped away as he brought the crowbar down, it hit the ground with such a force that it chipped the stone.

Giroro and Keroro faced each other, hate in one pair of eyes and determination and fear in the other pair "I can't afford to die here... I can't!" Giroro got into a horse stance "if I can get that crowbar away from him... I can win this fight... But he seems much faster then the real Keroro ever was..."

The fake Keroro snarled and tried to hit him with the bar again, Giroro dodged and tried his best to land a punch, but Keroro 2.0 was to fast and slipped out of range.

"Goddamn it!" Giroro thought "if only I had a knife... Or a gun!"

The two went back and forth, neither of them landing any hits, and dodging so fast that they were blurs "what the hell is this? He's like the perfect solider... But without a gun! And something tells me that if he did have one, I would defiantly be dead by now..."

He shot a look at the door "I can't keep this up... I have to get out of here..."

Giroro attempted to rush by him, but Keroro twisted like a snake and managed to clip Giroro on the shoulder with the crowbar before he could get out of range.

Giroro hissed and kept running, grabbing at his shoulder as a stinging pain shot from it. He withdrew his hand and looked at it to see that there was no blood "good... Only a scratch..."

He continued running, Keroros enraged scream of frustraition following him, along with several rapid footsteps.

Giroro rounded a corner and skidded to a halt, his stomach lurching as he realized that he had come to a dead end. Giroro didn't need to look back to tell that Keroro was right there for he could hear his ragged, heavy breathing.

"This is it... No more... NO MORE!" Keroro raised the crowbar above his head once more.

Giroro looked back just in time to see the thing rushing toward his head, to fast to dodge, to sharp to block and expect no damage to his arm, there was nothing he could do but stare as it felt like time slowed down.

"No... No I... I couldn't have failed... Could I? No... NO!"

But just as the crowbar was about to smash into his face, something suddenly charged up behind Keroro, something red.

Keroro screamed as he and the crowbar were shoved to the side, Both of them fell onto the ground, Keroro with a thud and the crowbar with a clatter.

Giroro stared with wide eyes as his copy, who was standing above the downed Keroro, he looked terrified and he was shaking violently. He looked at Giroro and opened his mouth to say something, but Keroro beat him to it.

"Two?! There's two now?!" He snarled and grabbed the crowbar before anyone could knock it away "oh god... This is to cruel... But I'll never give up! I'll make every single red demon dissapear! I'll kill them all!"

"N-No!" Giroro yelled as Keroro swung the crowbar back at his copy, the sharp hooked end of the crowbar piercing his chest, making him scream and fall back with blood squirting everywhere. It stung as the spray hit Giroros eyes, but he could not blink it away as he watched his own copy hit the ground and lay still.

Keroro was up in a flash "and now... You!" He got ready to swing it again "I'll nail you both up so high that you won't ever be able to get down!"

Giroro continued to stare at his copy's limp body, Keroros words making no impact on his ears "he saved me... He was terrified... Yet he saved me..." Giroro shuddered "but he killed him... I know he will come back... He did it before, but still... Why am I getting so attached? He's not real!"

"Yet he had a beating heart... A mind of his own... He was alive damn it! No one deserves to die like that! No one!"

Something clicked in Giroros mind, something made him start to twitch "you... You asshole!" Giroro howled as Keroro began to swing the crowbar. He flashed forward with an unknown source of new speed and ducked under the moving crowbar, making Keroro gasp and step back.

Giroro latched onto the crowbar and painfully wrenched it from Keroros grasp, and with his free hand, grabbed Keroros arm and flipped him over his head, making him crash into the ground in front of Giroro.

Keroro grabbed his shoulder and screamed, Giroro recognized the odd shape and hissed as he recalled the same injury on Tamama "no... You don't deserve pity" Giroro raised the crowbar that he now held above his head "you don't deserve anything... But the death you have inflicted on him... Over and over again..." He glanced at his copy "he didn't deserve this... No one does..."

With that, Giroro drove the crowbar right through Keroros chest, making him jerk and scream before coughing up blood and falling limp on the stone floor.

Giroro stepped back and looked away, breathing hard "there... It's done..."

He walked over to his copy "th... Thank you..." He sputtered, looking at his wound. He was just about to walk away when his copy suddenly lurched and coughed, making Giroro jump "wha- he's still alive!?"

Giroro swooped down and helped him sit up, grabbing his hand "h-hey... Can you... Can you hear me?! Open your eyes!"

His copy sputtered, blood oozing out of his mouth. He opened his eyes a bit and looked at him "ngh... U-ulgh! Hack!"

"Hey... D-don't waste your energy..." Giroro covered his wound "st-stay with me, please!"

His copy's eyes were growing dull "h... H-hnngh..."

"Hey... No, no... Don't you dare give up on me solider!" Giroro gripped his hand tightly "I don't understand... Why am I getting so worked up about this? He's not even real!" Giroro bit his lip.

his copy blinked hazily at him, before showing a faint smile on his face, then his body slowly went limp, a final, long breath escaping his lips.

"No... No! Don't die!" Giroro laid him down and attempted to do CPR with no mouth to mouth connection since it proved to be just as effective without "come on! Live damn it! LIVE!"

But he would not live, he was already gone, Giroro fought back tears as he continued his attempts to resurrect his copy. The world slowly fading to black around him "no... No... I can't fall asleep! He has to live!"

But it proved to be useless, his copy's warm skin growing cold was enough evidence for Giroro that he was long gone. A tear rolling down his cheek and falling onto his copy's own face was all he remembered seeing as sleep crashed over him like a black wave.


	79. Chapter 79

Dororo watched over Tamama with sleepy eyes, he had moved the private over so he was a few feet away from the door. Kururu sat nearby, his back to Giroros door, and his brow scrunched up as if deep in a serious thought.

Dororo yawned and rested his head on his knees "I wish I could be there with you Giroro... I don't want you to die..." He sniffed and fought back tears.

"Kukuuu... Dororo?"

Dororo was about to look up at Kururu when he continued talking "I don't mean to alarm you... But I think Giroro just won"

"wh-why do you say that?"

"Oh, gee, I dunno, because he's laying right in front of his door"

"WH-WHAT?!"

Dororo spun around to look at the doors, sure enough, a red Keronian was sprawled out in front of the second door "G-Giroro!"

He rushed over to him, his stomach sinking as he saw that Giroro, much like Tamama, was still and peacefully sleeping. Kururu watched from afar "kukuu... Just like Tamama..."

Dororo dragged him over to Kururu and Tamama "d-do you really think he's gonna be ok?"

"Ku... Who knows? We'll know when we both win" Kururu stood up and started to walk over to the doors.

"H-hey! Wait!" Dororo cried "y-your going to just leave me alone?!"

"Your in no danger... Besides, your not alone" Kururu gestured to their sleeping friends.

"B-but..."

"Just sit tight, I'll be back..."

Dororo blinked "wh-why is it when your talking to me, and me alone, you stop laughing?"

Kururu stopped and looked back at him "Kukukuuu... Happy now?"

"n-no..."

"Just wait..." Kururu continued walking "wait for me to return before going through the last door"

"K-Kururu..." Dororo whimpered and reached out to him "wh-what if you don't come back?"

Kururu hesitated, them turned to look at him, his glasses flashing "Kukukuuu... I will"


	80. Torture

Kururu covered his ears and winced as the incredibly loud sound of crackling electricity met his ears, the hall he was in was dark and cold, a light flashing from underneath a door that was at the end of the hall.

Kururu kept his ears covered as he slowly started to walk towards it, but as he drew closer, the sound just grew louder and louder.

He muttered something as he realized that he would have to uncover one of his ears to open the door. He gritted his teeth and slowly withdrew his hand, giving Kururu the opportunity to experience the terribly loud sound, but now that he was close and hearing the full extend of the noise, he could hear something else underneath it... Something like a scream.

Kururu slowly opened the door and sheilded his eyes from the bright, flashing light before him. Many, many wires were running across the floor and attached to this source of light. Kururu could practically see the powerful current of electricity racing through the wires, making each individual wire crackle and spark.

The scream Kururu had heard before had grown louder, and as Kururu drew closer, the source of light turned out to be a table of some kind, the wires were all attached to something on it, something that was writhing around and releasing the awful scream.

Suddenly, the table stopped flashing, making Kururu blink rapidly and take a step back. He then sucked in a breath as he saw what all of that electricity had been pumped into.

It was a Keronian, or was. The meaty smell of fried flesh made Kururu gag as he took a closer look. It was cooked beyond reconision, but it was still very alive, moaning and groaning softly, clearly in agony.

Kururu was about to reach over to start yanking wires out of the poor thing, when the Keronian suddenly changed before his eyes. In an instant, burnt meat turned into smooth, untouched skin... Yellow skin...

Kururu stared at what now was an exact replica of Kururu himself, glasses and all. The copy gave him one look and started to struggle, frantically trying to rip his hands out of the steel restraints that held him down against the killer tanning bed.

Kururu was lost for words, and started to consider helping him, until the bed started to flash once more.

Kururu covered his ears as his copy screamed and thrashed around, shaking and vibrating from the force of the electricity. Kururu could only watch for what felt like hours until he head a loud clang to his left, making him flinch.

He looked over to see a massive metal door, and he could see that it was vertically opening very slowly.

Kururu quickly darted away and behind a nearby metal box that was covered in glowing buttons and other flashing lights.

"Gero gero gero! Are you having fun, Sgt major Kururu?"

Kururu froze as he recognized the sound of Keroros voice over the screams and cracking of electricity, it was cheerful and giddy, as if he was enjoying the agony of Kururus copy.

Keroro kept talking, his voice being drowned out as the electricity seemed to get louder. Only when it stopped to reveal another cooked clone of Kururu did he make out the green Keronians words.

"You know, I'm surprised your not having more fun! You LOVE pain!" Keroro snickered "but seeing that your not almost doubles MY fun! So lets keep doing this, shall we?"

"N-NO!" Kururu could hear his own voice from beyond the safety of his hiding spot "please stop! It hurts so much!"

Kururu frowned as he heard his copy's frantic scream "he's not acting like I would... He's freaking out... I wouldn't freak out in a situation like that... I would be confused, but if he really was a perfect copy like his looks imply, then he should be begging for more!"

Kururu rubbed his forehead "and Keroro would never have the guts to look at something as horrendous as a cooked body like that with such joy... This can't be real... It can't be... There's way to many flaws here for this to be reality..."

"Hmph..." Keroro let out a snort "your no fun at all, sgt major... But that won't stop us from playing out little game!" Kururu could hear him walking away "You'll start to enjoy it soon enough!"

"NO! NO!"

Kururu covered his ears again as his copy started to get electrocuted, meaning he must have regenerated like before in the middle of Keroros little speech.

Kururu peeked out from behind the box as he heard the large door shut after Keroro had gone through it "why would he be torturing him like this?" Kururu frowned "well... Whatever the reason... He might try and torture me to if he manages to capture me..."

Kururu did a quick scan of the room to check for cameras, satisfied that he saw none, he stepped out from behind the box and scooted over to the door "ku... Now I just have to slip by him as the door opens... And get the hell out of here..."

Kururu covered his eyes as the flashing of the table began to give him a headache, if he didn't get out of here quick, he could possiably get a seizure.

after a while, the door started to open again, and Kururu gritted his teeth and waited as he saw the green form of Keroro walked out, a wicked grin on his face.

Kururu held his breath as he walked by, his gaze focused on the table, making him obvlivious to the yellow Keronian pressed up against the wall.

Kururu slipped by him and out into the hallway that Keroro had come from. But stopped dead as he realized that this new hallway led to a dead end... No doors to be seen.

Many questions went through his head, did Keroro just appear out of no where, or did he come through a secret door? If there was a secret door, where was it? And why didn't Kururu just go back through the door he first came in? Why did he decide to pull a risky maneuver like that?

Kururu turned back around, hoping to hide once more before Keroro noticed him standing out in the open like this, yet instead of seeing the door, he saw a green face and wild, black eyes.

Kururu choked out a cry if pain as a green knee rammed into his stomach, making him double over and hit the ground with a thud. He groaned and held his stomach as he looked up to see Keroro standing over him "heh... Your not as smart as you think, sgt major..." Keroro crouched down and grabbed Kururu by the throat, making him gasp for air "you may be ranked higher then me... But that doesn't mean that I'm better then you..."

Kururu grabbed at his neck and tried to breath "no... This is defiantly not Keroro! He could never be as strong as this!"

Keroro stood up, bringing Kururu up with him and forcing him to stand on shakey legs "the only thing I can't figure out is the fact that there's two of you... But that's fine... More fun for me!"

Keroro started to drag Kururu over to the table, who had begun to struggle. Keroro stopped walking and looked at him "you were never in the best physical condition... Always slow... Always running out of stamina..." He snickered "I bet your wishing you had tried harder in P.E... Huh? Man... Your parents must be so proud to have a weakling as their son!"

Kururu stopped dead, his eyes going wide "wh.. Wha..." He choked out, unable to talk because of Keroros iron grip on his neck.

"I'm sorry... What?" Keroro tilted his head toward Kururu, obviously taunting him.

"Sh...sh..." Kururu sputtered, his face suddenly growing dark, and his fingers digging into Keroros hand, startling Keroro a bit "s-sh...u.. T... UP!" He suddenly yelled and twisted so he could bury his horse teeth right into Keroros arm, making Keroro cry out and drop him.

"O-ow! Why you little..." He rubbed the red mark Kururu had left as the scientist rolled away from where he was dropped and scrambled to his feet, his glasses glowing white, completely hiding the spirals that were on them.

Keroro rushed over to grab him, but Kururu jumped away, snatching Keroros arm as he went by and yanking him down.

Keroro hit the ground with a thud, cussing and spitting, his entire face completely red with rage "you'll pay for that!"

In Keroros anger, he forgot a vital thing... Something that Kururu made sure to never forget.

Keroro charged at him like a bull after a red flag, arms outstretched and a yell coming out of him. The mistake he made was jumping, hoping for a flying tackle.

But the moment that Keroros feet left the ground, Kururu spring to the side, revealing the flashing table.

Kururu covered his ears as Keroro flew right into the electrical charge, shrieking with pain and fear... That was, until the table turned off again to reveal two burnt bodies instead of one.

Kururu stared at the repulsive sight, his brow furrowed and his glasses still glowing white. A bit of anger radiating off him.

After a while, Kururu realized that the table was not turning on anymore. He stood up and went over to look at his copy... He was very dead.

"The table must have malfunctioned from the force of Keroro hitting it so hard..." He muttered "at least he can't hurt you anymore... Kukukuu..."

Kururu looked away and rubbed his temples, the strange feeling of sleepy ness beginning to overwhelm him. Kururu covered his eyes and leaned against the wall "ku... K... W-what the..." He started teetering side to side, the world growing dark around him.

Kururu looked up just in time to see a surprising sight, everything in the rom was gone, the bodies, the table, the wires... Everything... And the rest of the room was turning black, as if vanishing and revealing nothing at all.

Kururu stumbled away from the wall as he could no longer feel it, his eyes closing despite his efforts to keep them open "no... No... Stay awake... Stay awake!" He thought as he fell to his knees.

Kururu tried to get a good look at what had become of the room, but his eyes rolled back into his head and he face planted against the ground, sleep consuming him and leaving him still as a statue.


	81. Angel

Dororo sighed and shifted around, trying to get blood running through his legs to wake them up. He had been curled up in a ball for a while now, the cold of Keroros barren mind was making him shiver, and the screams of his fears sending constant chills down his spine.

"Let this be over soon... Let this whole, awful nightmare be done..."

He shot a glance at Giroro and Tamama... Both were still silent and peaceful... And both were still asleep.

He reached out to touch them, their bodies still warm and their hearts still beating... A good sign considering the fact that they had been in this state for a while now.

Dororo sat up and wiped his nose, his eyes beginning to burn with tears "what happens after we get out? What if we have to do this over and over again? What if... There's no end?"

He looked at the door Kururu had gone through, his gaze directed at the very top of the door "and... What about that girl? She was ment to be the wife of some greedy basterd... Right after she found the love of her life... I wonder... How she's faring... She must cry every night..."

He let his gaze travel down the door, he had done this many times. His constant checking of the door annoying him "what gives me hope, anyway? Why do I think that he's going to be laying there-" he stopped short and froze as something yellow caught his eye.

He sat there for the longest time before bursting out into tears, frantically crawling over to the scientist, who was laying at the foot of the door "K-Kururu! Oh god! You did it! You really di-" he stopped again as he realized that Kururu wasn't responding to him at all, breathing normally, but still and quiet as a statue.

Dororo covered his eyes "Ooooohhh... Noooo... Please... No... Wake up! Wake UP!" He shook the sgt major "please! D-don't make me leave all of you guys here defenseless! Wh-what if something happens to you guys?!" He looked at Giroro and Tamama "please! Y-you need to wake up! I'm begging you! Please..." He lowered his head and continued to cry.

He clawed at his head, a wail escaping his dry throat... It was the cry of a wild, cornered dog with broken bones. It hurts to move... The fear of death compleatly driving all sense away... Yet deep within there is peace... It's faint, but it's defiantly there. The knowing that all of the pain will be over soon... no matter what the outcome is... Ether death... Or a savior that will come and gently rub that dogs head with gentle, yet strong hands.

Another hand will set the bones, then carry that dog away to be healed in a warm place full of comfort and happiness... Where it will be loved... And where it will forever stay... Because it now loves the savior...

...And the savior loves it...

Dororo spun around as he felt a presence there, and what he saw shocked him. The figure that they had seen from before was standing there, yet still covered by unknown shadows and completely unidentifiable.

Dororo stared at it, the mystery of its identity giving it a natural, and almost soothing beauty to look at... It stared back at Dororo, it's comforting presence flooding the atmosphere of Keroros mind, the sound of fear being muffled, and the static of something unknown made its presence known within the air between Dororo and the figure.

"Wh...who are you?" He whispered, dying to reach out and touch this mystical creature that was now also almost radiating an unseen light that warmed his cheeks "a-are... Are you an angel?"

The figure obviously did not have wings... neither did it have a halo... But the wonderful, almost ancient vibe that it gave off made him think it was very much a servant of god... The figure let out a soft sigh and leaned in closer, and Dororo soon repeated that action, coming close together, making Dororos cheeks burn as if on fire, yet the rest of his face was fine.

"Trust is precious, trust takes courage, trust makes us do things science cannot predict..." The figure whispered. Dororo couldn't identify the gender of the voice... He didn't care... It sounded as if it was talking with everyone's voice all at once. As if everyone he had known and loved were gathering to comfort him with a voice of velvet.

"Your friends left you to guard the ones you care about, from an unknown fear... One knows that there is no such terror... Two are blissfully unaware... Another one is suffering within himself... And one more must make a choice... Go through the door and leave his friends for the mercy of fear... Or let fear take over and stay behind to guard them from nothing..."

Dororo blinked as the figure began to fade away "h-hey... Don't go..."

"Trust in your friends... Or at least... The one that was awake the last..."

"Wait! Don't leave!" Dororo shot out a hand to grab the figure, but if was already gone... His hand piercing nothing but empty air.

Dororo was trembling, his tears had stopped, but something else then a cry was welling within him... Something like a spark of energy.

Dororo clutched his chest and stood up with shaky legs, his eyes squeezed shut "what was that?" He thought, his mind almost clear as a summer sky "was it really an angel?"

He rubbed his eyes and looked at the final door "is it true? Is there really nothing to be worried about? Can I just... Leave them?"

Dororo frowned and rubbed his cheek, both of which were still hot "can I really trust Kururu? After all the lies he told me? After he tried to kill himself?"

He looked down "but... He did come back for me... He saved me..."

He looked back at the door, his eyes sharp with determination, that almost foreign spark of energy he had gained started to swell and flood his limbs and chest, making him sigh.

"He trusts me... They all do... Now I must trust them..."


	82. The Pool

Dororo recoiled and covered his nose as an awful smell hit him like a train. It was the unmistakable smell of feces and rotting flesh.

He looked at the hallway he was now in. It was... Almost like a gymnasium in the form of a hallway, the smell of sweat that should have been there was drowned out by the atmosphere of terror that shouldn't have been there at all.

"W-what a stench!" Dororo gagged and started walking, his eyes darting around the hall, seeking out a door of some kind, or some means of finding out where he was.

there were no signs or anything, but there was a door at the end of the hallway. Dororo quickly walked over to it and grabbed the door knob, and slowly opened it.

Dororo took a step back and gagged again as the smell intensified. He looked in with watering eyes, and gasped.

It was like a kitchen, full of fresh vegetables and healthy looking fruits... Yet it smelled so bad. Dororo clutched his stomach as it growled loudly "o-oh my... I'm... Starving..." He felt his mouth water, but stopped himself from running in and eating it all "if its so fresh... Why does it smell?"

He decided to investigate, and realized that the stench wasn't coming from the food. It was coming from another door that was right by a large fridge.

Dororo went over to it... But as he was about to reach over and grab the knob, a voice boomed from the other side, making him freeze.

"Gero gero gero! You look so adorable down there? Oh, you want some food? Here... Oppp! Just kidding! Bwahahahaaa!"

Dororo covered his mouth as he recognized Keroros voice "who's he talking to?" He thought and slowly opened the door.

But as soon as he did, Keroros voice stopped dead.

Dororo shuddered as he saw nothing but a white tiled hallway, the smell getting even stronger.

He started walking down it, but just as he was about to round a corner, he quickly stopped as his ninja senses were tingling "wh-what the..." He looked at the corner "s-someone's waiting to ambush me!"

He took a step back "a-alright... Ok... Just back up... Get out... And..."

He gasped and grabbed at his neck as a sharp pain appeared there "o-ow!" He felt where the pain was and found something sticking out of his neck. He pulled it out and looked at it "a-a... Dart?"

He suddenly felt tired, his arms and legs growing numb "ngh... Ah... Wh-what..." He looked behind him to see someone standing there, but his vision was growing so blurry that he couldn't make out who it was "a-a... A trick!" He thought as he started to collapse.

"N...no... No!" He clawed at the ground, trying to get away, but he couldn't even tell if he was moving anymore. His vision blurring into one solid color, then fading completely black as he lost consensus.

...

"Hey, sleeping beauty... Wakey wakeyyyyyyyy... It's time to get uuuuuuuupppp~"

Dororo groaned and attempted to lift his head, yet kept his eyes closed for they ached just as much as the rest of his body.

"Come on, sleepy head! Open those pretty eyes of yours!"

Dororo sluggishly shifted around and whimpered as a cold hand touched his back and shook him gently "lets go... Up and at em!"

"who is that?" Dororo thought, his mind foggy "is it... Keroro?"

"don't make me drag you out of bed..." Dororo flinched as another cold hand assisted the first in shaking him "come on... Get up..."

Dororo hesitated before lifting his head again and tried to open his eyes. It was dark and cold, Dororo shuddered as he turned as best as he could to look at the person who had presumably been the one who had drugged him.

But now that he was more aware of his surroundings, he could tell that he was laying on what felt like cold metal.

"Wh-who's there?" Dororo couldn't make out the person through the darkness, but his hands were defiantly there "who are you?"

"Oh, Dororo... You don't even remember me? It's only been a few hours~"

Dororo narrowed his eyes into the darkness "I-I can't see you..."

"Heh... Maybe that's for the best..." One of the hands traveled up his back and into his shoulder "it might make it easier for me..."

"Huh?" Dororo blinked.

Suddenly, something fell onto Dororo, making him scream. It wasn't anything heavy, it felt like a net of some kind. Both of the hands had already vanished. Dororo grabbed at the net as it tightened around him "wh-what are you doing?!" He cried, his ninja abilities forgotten due to confusion and panic.

"Just relax..." The person suddenly yanked Dororo off the metal thing he was laying on and began dragging him across the floor by the net "w-wait!" Dororo thrashed around in the net, freaking out "l-let me go!"

Dororo squeaked as a sudden light flashed before his eyes. It was a door... An opening door.

"Where are you taking me?!" Dororo tried to tear his way out of the net, but failed.

"Oh, you'll see..." His captor snickered and continued to drag him into the light.

Dororo covered his nose and gagged as the horrid smell from before returned. He scrunched up his eyes and coughed "wh-what is that?!"

"heeyy there! Good morning! Awwww, what's da matter? Your rumbling tummy keep you up all night?"

Dororo blinked against the light and gasped as he saw a green Keronian standing in front of him, holding the other end of the net and looking down at something.

"I-It is Keroro! Oh my god!" Dororo shuddered "but who is he talking to?"

Dororo looked around and was startled to see that he was in an indoor swimming pool... Well... At the edge of one at least... There was no chlorine in the air, giving Dororo a reason to believe that the pool was empty... And for a long time...

Dororo blinked as this copy of Keroro waved at something down in the empty pool "come on, cheer up! I have breakfast!"

Dororo winced as he heard a repetitive and harsh scratching sound from down below.

"It sounds like someone's stuck down there..." Dororo looked at the pools far edge "but... Why is there no ladders? Why is there no shallow end?"

The fake Keroro pulled out a thin piece of bread, barely enough to feed even a tadpole.

"Do you want this? Huh? Do you? Ooohhh... To bad!"

He tossed the bread off to the side, and Dororo heard a feeble wail come from the pool "oh don't be such a cry baby, I've got something else for you!"

Keroro turned and smirked at Dororo, who had started to try and break the net again. Dororo froze as their eyes met, his were black like the vacuum of space, and heartless with no feeling whatsoever.

Keroro suddenly grabbed Dororo, making him scream. He pulled him out of the net and wrapped it around his neck as if to choke him. Dororo sputtered as Keroro forced him forward and to the edge of the pool, Dororo grabbed at the net frantically, trying to get it off himself, yet Keroro used the other end of the net to tie his hands behind his back.

"H-how did Keroro overpower me so easily?" Dororo thought as Keroro let Dororo lean over the pool, using the net to keep him from falling in "He's weak... How did he manage to both trick and capture a nin-"

Dororos train of thought stopped dead as he saw what was in the pool.

A large quantity of feces was packed into the far side of the pool, hence the awful smell, and right beneath Dororo, something was frantically scratching at the wall of the pool...

Dororo could only stare in horror at what looked like his identical twin... A horribly malnourished identical twin. His skin clung to his bones like flies to fly paper, his cheeks bones were awfully noticeable, and his rib cage was practically bursting out of what was left of his body. Even from the hight Dororo was at, he could count every single one of his ribs.

Dororos twin was frantically grabbing at the wall of the pool, trying to get to him. His eyes were wide and full of hunger, he was not even a Keronian anymore, just a animal in a cage, insane with hunger and pain. Far to distracted with hunger to remember any of his ninja training, all he seemed to want was food.

Dororo sucked in a breath as he saw that his twins fingers had been rubbed raw from trying to climb out, leaving trails of blood on the wall whenever he so much as touched it. But his twin didn't even seem to notice.

"This guy will make a real feast, won't he?" Dororo stiffened as Keroro called down past his head and to his twin "isn't that you want, right now? Huh? Isn't it?"

Dororos twin didn't respond, he just kept on trying to reach Dororo.

"Wait... Is he suggesting..." Dororos eyes widened "...no... There's no way... That's sick! I'm the same species he is! He wouldn't eat me!"

"You really want it, don't you?" Dororo held his breath as he felt himself being leaned farther over the edge "come on! You can try harder then that!"

Dororo winced as his identical twin began growling like a wolf protective of his kill, raw and bloody fingers reaching up and trying to grab at his face made Dororo realize the true horror of the situation he was in.

"If he lets me go... I'll fall down... And he'll..."

Dororo started gasping for air, not because he was hyperventaling out of panic... It was because the net was now so tight around his neck that he couldn't breath right.

"Oh god... Don't drop me... Please..."

Suddenly, the net was roughly yanked back, making Dororo choke a bit as he was pulled back to safety.

His twin let out a wail and collapsed against the wall as Dororo hit the ground with a thud, the net still around his neck and wrists.

"You must be really stupid if you think I would give you something as filling as that! I can't risk getting you fat!" Keroro threw the peice of bread from before into the pool. Dororo was close enough to see where the bread landed, and was horrified to see his twin completely destroy it. Ripping it apart with his teeth alone, frantically swallowing mouthful after mouthful without chewing, and licking up even the smallest of crumbs that he happened to drop.

"That could have been me..." Dororo squeezed his eyes shut.

Keroro looked back at Dororo, a smirk on his face "oh, don't worry... It'll be your turn next..."

Dororo froze and looked up at his as he went on "I can't give my little pet to much or he'll get fat... So I'll just give small bits of you to him at a time..."

"N-no! Stay away!" Dororo tried to scoot away, the net preventing him from using his arms to stand.

"Oh, don't worry, you won't die right away... I'll just start with the non vital limbs... Then I'll kill you" Keroro grabbed Dororo by the throat "it'll be nice to hear you scream when I start cutting... What should I take off first? A arm or a leg? The left or the right?"

"N-no! Please!" Dororo frantically cried, tears starting to fall down his face.

"Maybe a leg... So you can't run away if you accidentally get out..." Keroro laughed "but ether way... It'll be so satisfying!"

Dororo felt himself being swept away by shock, fear making his heart pound hard against his chest.

"No... Oh god no... I can't die! Not here! Not now!"

He suddenly blinked as Keroro started laughing, but it wasn't his laughter that had suddenly made him suprised.

"Maybe a leg... So you can't run away..." Keroros words echoed throughout Dororos mind.

"Legs..." Dororo jolted "he never tied my legs together!"

Dororo squeezed his eyes shut and raised a leg, quickly bending it to his chest before Keroro could stop him, and quickly kicked him right in the chest as hard as he could.

It was as if time had slowed down, Letting Dororo clearly see the scene that he had just created.

Keroros shocked face as he was kicked...

Keroros body flying back from the force Dororo had exerted onto him...

Keroros body disappearing over the edge of the pool...

Dororo gasped as time went back to its normal speed as a thud echoed throughout the giant room.

Dororo wince as he heard Keroro shift around "oooowww... Why you litt- w-wait..."

Dororos mouth fell agape as he heard what he said next "wait... No... No! Stay away! Get the hell away from me!"

Dororo looked away as he heard Keroros shrill scream, along with the sound of bone cracking under some kind of intensely strong force.

"A-aaaaaaiieeeee! No! NOOO!"

The cracking continued along with the screams... Until there was a crack much, much louder then the last and Keroros voice was suddenly silenced.

Dororo could only sit there and listen to the sickening slurp of blood over tounge as he processed what had just happened.

"I... I killed him..."

Now without the threat of death looming over him, Dororo was able to take his time and ease the net off him. It was a painfully slow process, but in the end, Dororo was free.

Dororo hesitated before looking over the edge and into the pool, and instantly looked away "o-oh god... I think I'm going to be sick..."

Dororos identical twin was at Keroros body, his fingers knuckle deep in bloody flesh, and his teeth just as deep in Keroros now torn open stomach.

Dororo looked again and whimpered as he saw that Keroros neck was at an awkward angle.

"He must have broken it... So he could have easier access to him..."

Dororo shuddered and looked at his twin, feasting away at the meat that once belonged to his tormentor "I don't understand why there's another me... Or another Keroro... But... This doesn't feel like a test anymore"

Dororo stood there for almost an hour, staring at his twin and pondering about his actions.

"Did I do the right thing? Surly everything is ok now that he's dead... Right? Or... Did I make a mistake? Should I have... Talked him out of it?"

Dororo covered his eyes "ohhh... I'm so confused..."

"H...hurk! Ack!"

Dororo blinked and looked down into the pool to see his twin clawing at the ground, writhing around as if in pain.

Dororo narrowed his eyes at it curled up into a ball, bile and blood leaking out of its mouth "wh-what the..." Dororo rubbed his head "what's wrong with him... Should I... Go down there?"

Dororo looked down, his hands shaking "he's eaten enough... Maybe... I don't think he will attack me..."

Dororo took a deep breath and jumped down.

He slowly approached him, fear turning to worry "this doesn't look good... Maybe it's all the raw meat he ate..."

Dororo stood near his head "h-hello? Are you ok?"

"Uulllhhhhh..."

Dororo crouched down next to him, wincing at the look of distress on his face.

"wh-what's wrong?" Dororo gently shook him, recoiling quickly as he suddenly vomited "o-oh boy..."

His twin gasped and choked on his own bile, his skin still dripping blood. Dororo swiftly moved so he was sitting and his twins head was in his lap "hey... Just relax... Where does it hurt?"

He couldn't answer... He couldn't even look at Dororo for his eyes were rolling into the back of his head.

"did... Did he eat so much that his stomach actually... Burst?"

Dororo winced "that... Must be painful... And his stomach acids must be leaking out... Meaning... Every organ in his body would be in danger of being eaten away"

his twin lurched and whimpered, going into shock "he's dying... Oh god no..."

Dororo held his head close, cradling it like a baby "please... Please don't die... I... I..."

Dororo felt tears begin to form "he was innocent... He doesn't deserve a death as painful as this..."

Dororo ignored the fact that he was covered in blood and pressed his head against his twins "why am I getting so attached... There's no way he's... Real..."

Dororo sniffed and closed his eyes.

...

_"Sleep, my precious..."_

_"Sleep my angel..."_

_"A world of wonder..."_

_"Awaits your arrival..."_

_"Let the moon and the stars..."_

_"Guide you there..."_

_"There may be sweetness..."_

_"There may be fear..."_

_"There may be sadness..."_

_"But do not fret, my dear..."_

_"For the sun will come soon..."_

_"And remind you of fantasy..."_

_"Yet if you still worry..."_

_"come and get me..."_

_"Voice your fears and I will hold you..."_

_"For dreams cannot harm you..."_

_"I won't let them..."_

_"Because I love you and you love me..."_

_"We are the closest of family's..."_

...

it was an odd song... A lullaby...

A lullaby that just so happened to escape Dororos trembling lips at that moment.

Dororos mother had created it... She had sung it to him every night... Even during middle school.

He liked it... It made him feel secure at night... He couldn't sleep without hearing it first...

Soon he had grown out of it... But he still liked it...

Dororo let out a sob "mother... What would you do? Would you help him? Would you leave him? I don't understand... Mother... I need you..."

Dororo held his twin closer, who's heart beat had faded to a flutter.

"I don't care if it sounds unmanly... I really... Really need you... Oh mother... I want to go home!"

Suddenly, something came over him... A heavy feeling of... Sleepiness...

"Wh-what the..." Dororo blinked hazily "wh-what's going on?"

The world suddenly started to fade away to black, making Dororo gasp "w-wait!"

He tried to hold onto his twin, but froze as he realized that... He was no longer there..."

"What... Where are you?!" Dororo tried to stand, but sleep pulled him down, holding him to the now black floor.

"U-ulgh..." He tried to lift his head, but failed. His eyes shutting and his mind drifting someplace far away.

"M... Mother... Where... Are... You...?"


	83. Chapter 83

The figure walked along the crowd of fear, watching as the green fellow was brutally murdered again and again...

It looked back over into the clearing, to see that all four doors were gone, and four Keronians lay there, still and silent.

"Not many get this far..." The figure huffed "I'm impressed..." It looked back at the crowd to see that it had frozen, nothing moved, and nothing spoke.

"Did you hear that? It's done... Leave" the figure stared deep into the crowd, seeing the unseeable "you've been defeated, go back to your creator and leave him be"

"never!" A voice cried back, almost like a frightened child "this is our home now! We are well fed here!"

"And you will continue to be fed when they have accomplished the our desired goal-"

"DON'T FEED US LIES, HOST OF LIGHT AND ALL THAT IS PURE!" The voice interrupted it "IT CAN NEVER BE DONE! NEVER! WE WILL BE IN THIS HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

"Wait and see" the figure turned and walked to the four Keronians "they will do it... They have to..."

"Your head is full of nothing but hope" the voice suddenly got quiet, almost a whisper "you are alone with your opinion... It will never happen..."

"You are wrong... I am not alone..." The figure didn't stop walking "now leave..."

The voice hissed, and the images of fear began to fade away. The figure walked over to the four Keronians and stood in the middle of them "your potential shines... We all saw it... Despite the terrors you faced... You succeeded..."

It sighed "yet one more terror awaits..."

...

...

...

"It's time to get up..."

"Noooo... No I don't wanna..."

"You must"

"I want to sleeeeeeeeep!"

"No more sleeping..."

"But the beds so comfy!"

"You can return to it later"

"but..."

"No buts... Get up"

"but mommmyyyy..."

"I SAID GET UP!"

Keroros eyes shot open, his heart pounding and his head throbbing. He clutched his chest and started gasping for air as if he had been underwater for several minutes.

"What just happened?"

He held his head and sat up from where he lay, his mind whirling and his memory hazy "oh man... My head..."

He rubbed his eyes and looked around, he was in a dark hallway, a six pointed star drawn on the wall that he had been conveniently laying against "wh-what the?"

"Sarge?"

Keroro blinked and looked around as he heard a high pitched voice call out for him "wh-who's there?"

"Sarge!"

Keroro gasped as black hands and arms shot out of the darkness, wrapping themselves around Keroros neck.

"Oh sarge! Your awake!"

Keroro blinked, overwhelmed by the sudden hug "T... Tamama?"

"Well look who's alive..."

Keroro looked past the one who was hugging him "G-Giroro?"

"About time you stopped being a vegetable... Kukuku!"

"Th-that wasn't very nice of you to say..."

"Kururu? Dororo?"

Keroro looked around frantically, trying to take in all of the faces that were coming out of the shadows, all of them looking relived and tired.

Tamama pulled away from Keroro, squeezing his hand like a bear trap "oh sarge... I was so worried!" He gave him another hug "I thought for a whole that you would wake up!"

"What... What even happened?" Keroro sputtered, still looking around.

"Wel-"

"ZZT!"

Giroro looked at Dororo as the ninja so rudely interrupted him, but his eyes were far off in the distance, staring into the shadows "something watching us..."

"Eh?" Keroro followed his gaze "what-"

suddenly, there was movement. Something just as dark as the shadows that covered it walked out, and a light blue hand appeared from it.

"Th...that's..." Dororo gasped and wavered a bit, his legs shaking.

"How does Dororo know about it?" Keroro frowned as the blue hand gestured to them, as if asking for them to follow.

Everyone just stared as the hand then disappeared and the rest of the figure vanished into the darkness.

Keroro instantly remembered the statue he had, but froze as he realized that he no longer had it "what's going on? Why do I feel like that was directed... To me?"

Keroro looked at his friends, who all looked like they were dumbfounded... Except for Dororo, who looked like he was about to collapse, his face completely red.

"Wh-what do we do?" Giroro sputtered.

"We follow it..." Kururu muttered.

"No..." Keroro suddenly choked out "just me..."

Everyone looked at him "s-sarge?" Tamama kept a hold of his hand as Keroro stood up.

"Just... Stay here..." He looked at the star "please..."

Dororo managed to tear his gaze away from where the figure once stood "why?"

"It's... It's not evil..." Keroro looked down the hall "it helped me once... I feel like its going to help us again..."

"But just you..."

"I'll be fine..." Keroro forced a smile "trust me"

Tamama hesitated before releasing his hand "y...you sure?"

"Yea..." Keroro chuckled "I'll be right back"

"You promise?"

"I promise"


	84. Origins

Keroro hurried down the hall, his eyes searching for the figure "where are you?" He asked aloud, his voice causing an echo.

"A little farther"

Keroro gulped as he heard what sounded like a females voice and continued to walk quickly.

"Right here..."

Keroro shuddered as he came across a large door "are you back there?"

"Yes... Come..."

Keroro gritted his teeth and opened the door.

He was quite shocked to see a dimly lit room, the figure standing in the center of it, a burning gas lamp in its hand.

Except the figure was no longer covered by shadow.

Keroro stared at the Keronian he could now clearly see. It was obviously a female, still a tadpole, yet looked like she was at least 20 years old. She had light blue skin and round, yet lidded green eyes that burned with a cold fire.

On her head, there was a green hat with two triangles coming out of it, and a grey veil much like Dororos was coming out of it, a light grey and a blue stripe lined the bottom of it. In the center of her hat was a red crescent moon, and a yellow one resided on her stomach.

Her tail was odd, instead of a simple circle, her tail was in the shape of a crescent moon, and it was mostly covered up by a dark teal scarf that wrapped around her neck and hung down her back.

She was a fairly pretty creature, yet her fit body type was a clear sign that she was no fragile being "u-uh... Who are you?" Keroro stammered, lost in her blazing green eyes.

"You have questions... And I have answers..." She turned away and started walking down another dimly lit hallway "but for now... You must listen... And follow..."

Keroro hesitated before hurrying after her "o-ok..."

She looked at the wall on her left "there is a story I want you to hear... To make it easier for you I used up my free time to draw pictures"

"uh... I'm not a toddler I don't need a picture book"

"their more like the Egyptians style of telling stories... And I seriously doubt that you have the attention span long enough for words alone"

The girl looked back at him "no offense"

"uh... None taken..."

"Good... Here..." The girl stopped and stood to the side so Keroro could see the wall.

Keroro looked at it "uh... It's... Blank..."

"Correct" the girl looked at him "there's nothing there..."

"Uh... What's the meaning of this?" Keroro looked at her "what does an empty space on a wall tell me?"

"Nothing... Because that what it is... Nothing..."

She moved the gas lamp across the wall, letting Keroro get a good veiw of nothing "that is what reality was like... Before there was the universe, there was nothing... But suddenly..."

The girl walked along the wall to a simple circle carved into the wall "there was something... A conscense with no body... A conscense with the knowledge of everything that could be and couldn't be, and the spiritual strength to do everything... Even break those rules..."

She looked at Keroro "do you understand?"

"Uh... Yes..."

She went on to the next picture, which was one with eight much smaller circles that sorrounded the big circle "this mind without a body grew lonely in the nothing... So she decided to use her strength and create a family."

"She split her power in half, then used one of those halves and split that one into eight peices... And gave those eight peices a life of their own..."

She looked at Keroro again "she gave them names... But in a language long forgotten... But we were able to find out what those names ment when translated into English..."

"Water..."

"Earth..."

"Plant..."

"Wind..."

"Fire..."

"Thunder..."

"Dark..."

"And light..."

"Their creator also gave herself a name... Moki..."

"Moki loved her children... Yet she feared for their safety... Their minds were in danger of drifting away... So she gave them bodies... Yet she still feared for them. They were weak and scared of getting lost in the nothing... So... She created 8 planets... One for each of them... Each one was as big as one eighth of today's universe"

"h-holy..." Keroro blinked.

"...and she put each one of her children onto a separate planet, hoping that they would grow strong in their new lush environment, and then she put herself in the middle of these planets, turning herself into a sun that the planets could orbit around.

"Soon, her children began to create life themselves... They split their own power just like Moki did and created an even larger family..."

She looked at him "each child, along with their children, had Mokis ability to control everything... Yet, when Mokis power split, it separated out into diffrent sections, making it so no child had the same set of abilities as the other..."

The girl walked over to another picture, eight circles with little symbols in them "their powers were just like their names in English say they are... Moki made it so that all of the atoms that they were able to control formed a substance that was unique to them... Yet her ability to bend these rules was left out, making it so that her children could not alter the laws of physics like she could..."

She sighed and looked at Keroro again "they lived in peace... But we all know that peace never lasts..."

She waved her lamp over a lone purplish black circle "the oldest of Moki's children, Dark, suddenly went into a rage for unknown reasons... He started to be cruel to his children, making more and more by the second, creating a bloodthirsty army..."

"War broke out... Dark's siblings were no match for his attacks, for their children were tender hearted and kind, not fit for war in any way... This went on for a while, no one knows how long for there was no time in the nothing, but eventually the children of Moki that were still good grew desperate and decided to stop it..."

The girl looked at a picture of what looked like an explosion "they gathered around their mother and released all of the destructive energy they had outward... Right at the planets..."

The girl looked down "the tremendous about of energy created an explosion... Turning the planets and their children to dust... And creating the universe... Only Moki was left unharmed..."

She sighed and continued walking down the hall "Moki grieved, for her children were also killed, yet everyone's spirits still remained. Moki heard their cries of confusion as they no longer had bodies and were not able to interact with anything... But Moki did not have enough energy to give them all bodies that could withstand their spiritual power..."

She looked at Keroro "so she came up with a plan... She created even more life, and even more much smaller planets that she scattered across the universe. These new life forms had the mental compasity to contain their own concense and another... The children planted themselves into their minds, seeing what their host saw and feeling what they felt... Mind you, they did not attempt to control their hosts, but they did speak to them... Telling them of the war and of their grandmother, who watched from afar as the new life began to evolve over the eons, change and adapt... More and more life began to emerge from oceans and soon, the universe was thriving with life"

Keroro stared at her "a-are you serious?"

"Do I appear to be in a joking mood?" The girl narrowed her eyes.

"I-if there's a ghost in everyone's head, why haven't people talked about it?! And I don't hear anything but my own thoughts!"

"That is because, like most life forms, you only use 10% of your brain power... A spirit can only join with your mind if you have at least 50% brain power, and it has to be at birth... Moki did not make ALL life, only the species that she created have at most 100% brain power, and even in those species, defaults are born, and then they multiply, then the ones with the ability to be the host of a spirit become more and more rare... But not to rare to start a civilization"

she continued walking "the spirits in their minds made it so part of their spiritual energy ran through their blood, making it so they could control the element that their spirit could once control, and so they could see other spirits... These beings soon got together as they realized that their numbers were growing thin, and decided to create a sacred place to live, someplace secret and safe, where race and species were put aside and everyone lived as one big family, listening to their spirits and practicing their elemental abilities... And slowly, but surely, growing in number once again... They called themselves 'Seers' for they could see the unseen..."

The girl let out a sigh "yet... The story does not end there... Do you recall Dark?"

"Uh... Yea..."

"He, unlike the others, did not die..." The girl looked at him "the explosion created a rift in the newly born space, which he was sucked into. It was a realm of darkness, and it only made his anger and hate grow"

the girl waved her lamp around "and it is where we now stand... The void..."

"W-wait... Then... Then that black thing that led us here was..."

"Dark himself..." The girl finished for him.

"B-But why?! Why would he lure us in here? And why is everyone else suffering to?!"

"Dark hates everyone... He's very sadistic... He wants all of those who were in the war to suffer, so he only takes those who have their spirits in their minds"

Keroro stared at her "what?! How the hell does he know the difference?!"

"He's smart and observant... Clearly one to fear..." The girl frowned "yet the void is complex... It branches off into several different pockets... Each one had a powerful spirit in control... Do you remember the little girl in the red dress?

"I... Oh yea... Her..."

"her name is Sachiko... And she was once a ruler of her own pocket... Yet she was appeased by a group of five and she tried to leave, but got sucked into here... The first and largest pocket..."

"Ok... Then what about the six pointed stars?!" Keroro waved his hands around "their everywhere! Even in my dreams!"

"The six pointed star is the symbol of the Seers... It represents the six main elements, then the center represents the two obscure ones" The girl pointed at a six pointed star, there was a symbol in each of the points. A drop of water, a lightning bolt, a square, a flame, a spiral, and a leaf, and in the center, there was an eye.

Keroro shuddered as he looked at the eye "o-oh man..."

"Yet... There's something off..." The girls voice made Keroro flinch and look at her "Dark is only after the Seers... Yet YOU..." She suddenly jabbed him in the chest, making his squeak "you and your friends are defaults... You don't have a spirit to guide you, you have no powers... So why is he interested in you?"

Keroro stared at her as she pulled he hand away "maybe... It's because you are the perfect missing peice... And he wants you dead and unable to stop him..."

"H-huh?"

"Do you remember the parents of all those children? Darks siblings?"

"Uh... Yea?"

"Their spirits are far more powerful then an advrage spirit... They are the universes only hope in taking down Dark and the void"

"ok?"

"Dark knew this... So he quickly snatched up the hosts that carried his siblings and locked them away... And as they died within these wretched walls, Dark locked away his siblings spirits so they could not join forces and escape... But only one sibling evaded capture... Light..."

The girl looked at the ceiling "when the explosion occurred, Light's spirit was ripped in two, each one gaining a separate mind of its own... Those two were still stronger then the advrage seer even when separated... The hosts of them are always destined to be the leaders of the Seers, a mentor and an apprentice..."

Keroro could only stare at her as she went on "and each one has a lifespan of 1000 years"

The girl sighed "Dark hates light... He can't get near it... So capturing a well trained Light Seer was not an option... So he waited... Until another one was born... And when it was a tiny child, murdered its family and stole it away, and locked it up within the void..."

"That's... Horrible..." Keroro sputtered.

"When the next light Seer is born, he will take that one to... He must be stopped before that happens..." The girl looked down.

Keroro bit his lip and took a breath "that kid was you... Wasn't it?"

She looked back up at him, her eyes full of sadness, yet the rest of her face refused to show it "the memories of that night never left my mind..." She lifted her head high "their deaths may have been horrible, yet the past cannot change. The best thing I can do for their spirits is make sure it never happens again... I have been waiting for 484 years for a team of possible hosts for-"

"whoa whoa WHOA" Keroro shot his hand out in front of himself, inturrupting her "your 500 years old?!"

"484" she corrected him.

"Jesus! Your OLD!"

The girl frowned "you need to focus... It's important that you do this... The millions upon millions of suffering spirits depend on you"

"wow, way to take off the pressure..."

"The only way to destroy the void is to appease Dark like a spirit, for that you need the strength of the six gods trapped within this place... To do that, you must combine your bodies with theirs"

"h-hang on! I thought I only had 10% brain power!"

"It's not completely impossible... Your body will alter itself after you bare the pain and increase your mental capacity..."

"Wait... Pain?"

"A strength that can destroy galaxy's will be forcing its way into your head"

"Jeez..."

"But... Not just anyone can do it" the girl leaned in close to Keroro "only those who have traits that match their spirits can link together... To prove that you do indeed have these traits, you must complete a test..."

"Again?!" Keroro cried.

"Yes, again" the girl folded her arms "and this will be much... MUCH harder the the previous ones..."

"Well... Shit..."

"Do you have any questions?"

"Uh... Yea... What even is your name?"

The girl gave him an almost invisible smile "Tururu"

"Tururu? Uh... I don't think 'Turu' means anything in Japanese"

"I don't think it does ether... But I've heard that in the Seers ancient language it means 'griffin'..."

"Griffin?"

"You know, from human mythology... Half lion, half eagle..."

"Huh... Neat..."

"But that dosent matter now... Right now you need to-" she suddenly flinched and grabbed her chest "s-shit..."

"Huh? What's the matter?"

Tururu looked at him through scrunched up eyes "R-Run away... Right now!"

"Eh? Why-"

"Dark can clone people! You know that more then anybody else!" She snapped, clearly in pain "he literally made another me from my shadow!"

She hunched over, panting "I-I've used up so much of my energy trying to keep her away, but I can't do it anymore! She will kill you if she finds you!"

Keroro took a step back, his eyes wide "a-ahh..."

"RUN YOU IDIOT!" She suddenly screamed, making Keroro jump with a shriek and start sprinting back the way he had came, Tururu's voice following him.

"Tell your comrades what I told you! You must complete the trials or you will never free everyone! Run away if you see even what looks like me in the slightest! TRUST NO ONE BUT YOUR FRIENDS FROM HERE ON OUT!"


	85. Pressure

Keroro was panting by the time he returned his his friends, his legs and lungs burning from running so fast.

"K-Keroro! Are you o-"

"R-RUN!" Keroro screamed as he inturrupted Giroro and ran by them "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

He silently hoped that his friends were following him as the sound of his own footsteps where all that he heard over the pounding of his heart.

"Oh god... Oh god... Oh god!"

He eventually came to a halt, gasping for air and holding his knees "th-that's far enough... Right?" He thought and looked back at the darkness he had come from.

He felt relief crash over him like a wave as he saw his four friends running up to him, the door Tururu had led him through was long gone.

"Th-the hell man?!" Giroro skidded to a halt when he reached Keroro "what's gotten into you? Did that thing do something to you?!"

Keroro spat out a large quantity if saliva and shook his head "n-no..."

"S-sarge!" Tamama gave him a flying tackle, tears running down his face "why did you run away like that?! You freaked me out!"

"G-give him room to breath!" Dororo gently pushed Tamama away, only he seemed to breathing normally "he's freaking out, crowding him like that won't help him!"

"Ku... H-he looked scared more then anything" Kururu wheezed, also breathing hard.

Keroro fell to his knees, him mind whirling like a tornado, all of the information he had just learned was bombarding his brain like bullets.

He looked up at his friends "Y-You have NO idea what I just learned..." He gasped and fell to the side and laid on his back "j-Jesus Christ... Th-this is so much bigger then you think..."

Everyone looked at him with a puzzled look "eh?"

Slowly, while still gasping for air, Keroro started to explain everything Tururu had told them. From the creation of the universe to the fact that they had one more game to play. Everyone was staring at him with wide eyes, speechless and still as they proccesed what he said.

"y-your saying a 500 year old girl just called you over and told you how the universe was created?!" Tamama squeaked.

"And you believed her right off the bat?!" Kururu added.

"Well, at first I questioned it... Until she got to the part where she mentioned Dark..." He blinked "come to think of it, it kind of sounds like a weird childrens story"

"yea, because childrens stories are full of war and death!" Giroro huffed "and we have to just SAVE everyone by becoming GODS? That sounds like bullshit to me!"

"Well, he said joining WITH a god... Not BECOMING one..." Dororo crossed his arms.

"Whatever, it still seems a little fishy..."

"H-how do they expect us to cheat death again?!" Tamama cried "I don't think I could handle it!"

"We have to..." Keroro slowly stood up "or at least... We have to try..."

"Oh... Uh... Keroro?" Dororo started to twindle his thumbs.

"yea?"

"What did this girl... Look like?"

"Uh... Blue... Brighter then you though... Uh... She was a tadpole... Green and grey hat... Scarf... Had these weird blue and grey bracelets on... Crescent moon for a symbol... bright green eyes... Cute by society's standerds... Why?"

"Ohh... No reason" Dororo nervously chuckled and looked away.

"Eh... Ok..."

"Kukukuuu... If we need to do this, we need to do it now... Did she tell you where the beginning of the game is?" Kururu broke up their conversation.

"Uh... No... But... It's gotta be close... Right?" Keroro looked around "Jesus... This place is a dump..."

"It's even worse then the hospital... I can't even tell what it used to be..." Giroro put his hands on his hips and looked at the almost blackish purple wooden walls and the rotting, black wooden floor.

"Should we go back or...?"

"NO!" Keroro suddenly yelled, interrupting Dororo and startling everyone.

He grabbed the ninjas shoulders, making him squeak "we can't... We can't go back... We will die if we will! We need to keep going!" He grabbed Tamamas had and forced a cheerful smile onto his face "lets just go save the universe while in hell! ONWARD!" He thrusted his fist into the air and began to drag Tamama away.

Giroro sighed and rolled his eyes, then followed.

Kururu looked at a still startled Dororo "ku... You almost sounded hopeful..."

"Eh?" Dororo looked at him.

"You saw her before... Haven't you?"

"Well... Once... But I didn't get a good look at her..."

"But you totally dig her... Right?"

Dororo winced, a blush forming on his face "that is non of your business! I just thought she... Uh... Sounded nice when she talked to me!"

"Uh-huh... Right..."

"Besides, I don't know what she looks like!"

"Ku... Keroro just told-"

"well, what if when I meet her, she turns out to be a bitch?! Just leave it alone!"

Dororo hurried away and after everyone else, and Kururu eventually followed.

"Oh, he so wants her... Kukukuuuu!"


	86. Backstage

"You little bitch... How dare you!"

A black hand surrounded in purple smoke grabbed a sphere made of purple glass, it reflected five Keronians hurrying along a hallway... His hallway...

"I want her dead already!" The owner of the hand clenched the orb, shaking violently "I want her dead and gone! I want my sister locked away forever!"

The owner of the hand smashed the purple glass ball into the palm of his other hand, shattering it and letting shards of purple glass fly everywhere "damn it all! DAMN IT!"

A black figure hunched over and held his head with his hands "why did she have to tell them! I'm so close! Just 16 more years and that baby will be mine!" He growled, his black hands clenching and in clenching "now I have to deal with this!"

"Remember, master, the odds of them succeeding are quite low..."

"Shut up!" The black figure screamed as a cloaked Keronian, it's body completly hidden "I never gave you premission to speak!"

The black figures deep, frightening voice suddenly cracked, making him sound like little child.

He grasped his throat and growled, baring his white horse teeth "damn it all... I'm breaking apart... I can't... I can't... They need to die!"

The broken shards of glass suddenly flew back to his hands, reforming into a sphere that began to show the five Keronians once more.

The figure cupped it in his cold hands "die... Die... Diediedie!"

Nothing happened.

"Why won't you die?!" He screamed and broke the orb once again, but it just repaired itself once more.

"They are under the watch of your siblings..." The cloaked figure whispered.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" The black figure shrieked "WHERE IS FETATA?!"

"your daughter is after Tururu, who's defenses have been lowered" the cloaked figure bowed his head "it seems that she is deliberately trying to lure her away from them"

"damn that Seer!" The black figure snarled "she will pay for that!"

"There is nothing you can do master... You are not in control of this situation anymore..."

"I WANT TO BE!" The black figure yelled and pounded his fist into the floor, his entire body trembling "I should have never let them live! I should have killed them the moment they arrived!"

"There's nothing you can do about that now... We can only wait and see the outcome..."

The black figure covered his eyes "get out" he spat "leave me alone"

the cloaked figure nodded and vanished into thin air, leaving the black one alone with the orb.

The black thing grabbed the orb and stared deep into it, watching the groups leader closely "damn you... Damn you!" He growled "I'll kill you... I'll kill everyone! Your gay ass boyfriend, your stupid muscle head, your geeky mad scientist, your whimpy assassin... They will all die! Because I want it that way, AND I GET WHAT I WANT!"


	87. Uncertanty

**HIIIIIII there!**  
**I come with some news! **

**first, I would LOVE to thank everyone who has stuck with me for so long!**

**and second, I would like to say that I do indeed have a Deviantart account!**

**my username, like here, is TheKeroroDrawer**

**and I know I suck at describing physical appearances, so in case I confused you while describing Tururu from chapter 84, I drew a picture of her :3**

** you can find it on that account!  
**

**and again, thank you for reading and posting reviews :3 I appreciate it!**

**...**

"Are we lost?"

"Nope"

"we're lost, aren't we?"

"Noooope!"

"Keroro, just admit it, you have no idea where your going"

"we are totally fine!"

Giroro muttered something under his breath, clearly agitated with Keroros stubbornness.

Dororo sighed and caught up with the red Keronian "it's not like there's another route... And we can't go back..."

"HE says we can't go back"

"we CAN'T!" Keroro interrupted their little conversation "that Tururu chick said we can't, so we can't!"

"And your putting all your trust in her? An old women that looks like a young woman with cat ears?"

"They weren't cat ears, they were part of her hat"

"what ever..." Giroro muttered.

"I-I think we should trust her..." Dororo added "I mean... Her little statue thingy healed Kururu..."

Keroro froze and looked at the ninja "w-wait... How he hell did you know about the statue?!"

Dororo stopped walking and looked at him with wide eyes "u-uhhh..."

"Kukuuu... I told him..." Kururu raised his hand.

"when?!"

"when you were still unconscious... and why are you freaking out? its just a healing statue"

"well... its kind of more then that..."

"who cares?" Giroro butted into the conversation.

"I don't!" Tamama raised his hand.

Keroro sighed and kept walking "this is a long hallway" he said.

"we don't have to go down it"

"Giroro, quit your bitching" Keroro muttered.

"I'm not bitching!"

"hes really not, hes just stating the obvious" Dororo said, trying to support the weapons specialist.

"well, we're going to have to ignore the obvious and keep walking until we find what we're looking for!"

"and what are we looking for?"

Keroro looked at Tamama "what do you think? six doors"

"thats it?"

"I dont know, there could be platforms like the first game as well"

Giroro threw his hands into the air "thats it! we're screwed! our leader is as clueless as a chicken without its head!"

"whats gotten into you?" Dororo suddenly said before Keroro could snap back at the hot headed corporal "your acting quite irregular"

"kukukuuu... everyone is" Kururu eyed Keroro.

"well, I'm guessing thats what hell does to you" Tamama shrugged.

"speaking of which, nothing bad seems to have happened in a while"

Dororo looked at Tamama "maybe its because we're close?"

"I still can't believe your taking this seriously! there's no such thing as magic!" Giroro growled.

"its not magic! its the... uh... ability to control certain atoms... or something..." Keroro sputtered, trying to remember what Tururu had said.

"how could they even do that?!"

"Giroro, just calm down" Dororo placed a hand onto Giroro's shoulder.

Giroro shrugged his hand off "dont tell me to calm down! I need proof that we're not on a stupid wild goose chase!"

Tamamas sudden squeal made both Giroro and Dororo jump with surprise, they looked over to see Tamama had collided with Keroro, who had suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

he suddenly turned to look at everyone, a smile curling up to his eyes was on his face.

"I told you I knew what we were looking for!"


	88. Blue

right in front of Keroro, the hallway broke off into a large room, six doors were fixed to the opposite wall of it.

one was blue, one was orange, on was green, one was light blue, one was red, and one was yellow.

everyone joined Keroro and stared at the doors "h-holy..." Dororo whispered "how did we not see this when we were walking towards it?"

"its because you all were yakking away!" Keroro chuckled "but now we're here! we're really here!"

Giroro and Kururu just stared at the doors and Keroro raced to the center of the room "we're here! start the test already!"

"h-hey! you cant just run in like that!" Dororo and Tamama hurried after them.

Giroro stared at the doors for a second before running after them, Kururu just casually strolled in.

Keroro looked around wildly "well!? start!? come on!"

"I dont think it can be rushed" Dororo put his hand on Keroros shoulder.

"but we have to do it now!"

"if we rush the tests, we might all die... kukukuuuu..." Kururu stood by the yellow door, looking at it.

Keroro sighed "maybe... but it needs to at least start!"

"give it a minuet sarge" Tamama held Keroros hand "it'll start when its ready..."

"that needs to be soon! we cant just let millions of people keep on suffering! the void needs to be taken down-"

a loud rumbling cut him off, the ground started shaking violently, making everyone scream.

but it was all over in a second, everyone standing upright with shaky legs "i-is everyone ok?" Giroro looked around.

"I... I cant move!" Tamama cried, and started trying to yank his feet off the ground, but they refused to leave the floor.

"m-me to!" Keroro cried.

"kuku... this is problematic..." Kururu muttered "non of us can leave now it seems"

"I can move..."

Everyone looked at Dororo, who was walking around freely "wha- how aren't you stuck?"

"I-I have no idea!" he cried "b-but..."

he stopped talking as his gaze traveled to the blue door "o-oh my..."

everyone looked at it to see a weird blue light seeping out from around it, giving the entire room a watery look.

Dororo gulped and looked at Keroro "I-I'm guessing this is why..."

Giroro stared at him "y-your first?"

"b-but your always last! in both games we've played, your always the last one to do your part!"

"ku... thats not true... he died first..." Kururu narrowed his eyes.

Dororo shuddered and looked back at the door "do I just... go in...?"

no one answered... no one needed to...

Dororo took a deep breath, and walked over to the door, and with a trembling hand, pushed it open.

the light that embraced him was almost blinding, but he couldn't lift his arms to cover his eyes, only his legs seemed to be working as he stepped through and deep into the unknown, the door slamming shut behind him with a creak and a bang.


	89. Forest

Dororo gasped at what he saw as the light faded away.

Trees... Many... Many trees...

He now faced a forest that went on forever, green grass covered the ground and a cold wind blew by Dororo, making him shiver.

He looked up to see that there was no ceiling, just an endless forest...

"O-oh my god..." Dororo whispered and started walking.

The trees were mostly pine, neetles were scattered along the ground and they pricked Dororos feet as he walked over them. Dororo winced and looked down "ow! Ow! Jeez!" He leaped up a tree using ninja speed and started hopping from branch to branch.

"Is there no end?" Dororo thought as he reached no edge to the forest "oh god..."

He leaped up and perched himself on the tip of a large tree, and gasped to see that there really was no end to the forest. It went on forever and ever, not even a single mountain blocked this monstrous forest.

Dororo started to bound across the tree tops "how is this a test? I don't see any conflict for me to face..." Dororo kept on jumping until his was out of breath.

He decided to land and let himself fall, threading the needle and avoiding branches as he fell.

Dororo closed his eyes and landed on the ground perfectly, but something squished beneath his feet.

"E-eh?" He looked down.

He covered his mouth as he saw nothing but red and black underneath him, the grass trampled and his legs splashed with red juices.

Dororo screamed and leaped away, landing in the pine nettles, sending several flying into the air.

He looked at his legs and realized the substance was blood "o-oh my god!" he attempted to wipe it off.

Dororo then looked at the massive spot of it and stood up "d-did someone die here?!" he sputtered "no one can survive if they've lost THAT much blood..."

Dororo backed away, then began to sprint into the trees "what happened? was it a suicide or a murder? and wheres the body?!"

Dororo looked around wildly as he ran, the trees blurring as he picked up speed "if it was a murder... wheres the killer?!"

suddenly, a spark of pain shot up Dororos leg, making him cry out and fall. he face planted into the needles and skid forward a few inches before coming to a rest.

"o-ooooww..." Dororo slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at his leg. It looked fine, yet it stung as if recently struck by a solid object. Dororo looked back and saw a rock jutting out of the ground a few feet behind him.

"I-I must have tripped on it..." Dororo gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand up, favoring his leg "how did I not see that coming?"

he attempted to put weight on his leg, but hissed as pain sparked to life within this foot "ow!" he jerked it back up and limped over to an old stump which was conveniently right next to him.

"how could I be so careless? I'm a ninja for Christs sake!" Dororo sat down onto the stump and rubbed his foot "ergh... stupid... I should have learned my lesson about being oblivious when I got stuck in that stupid bear trap!"

Dororo sighed and leaned back a bit "I guess you cant be perfect... but still... it was just a rock! how embarrassing!"

Dororo rubbed his eyes "if Keroro had seen that, He would have never let it go!"

he blinked "but hes not... I'm all... alone..."

Dororo stared at the ground in front of the stump, silent and still.

"This is a test... A test designed to see if I'm capable of hosting a god within my mind... A god..." Dororo looked at his trembling hands "if I fail... Everyone dies..."

He squeezed his eyes shut "what a lousy way to start off... First I panic... Then I trip on a rock dispite my high level of skills... Now I'm just sitting here..."

He clutched his chest "I won't give up... But I'm starting to think that I'm not... Worthy..."

He let out a sob "how can I be one with a god?! I'm pathetic! Unheard! Unseen! Forgotten and weak! I'm nothing!"

"Dororo?"

Dororo stiffened as a female voice sounded in his ear "wh-who's there?" He asked without opening his eyes.

"Dororo!"

He looked up, and was instantly blasted by a gust of cold wind, he flew off the stump and hit the ground this a thud, but as he struggled to stand, he realized that there were no more pine needles.

"Wh-what?"

He covered his eyes as the cold wind nearly carried him off the ground again, and something cold and wet struck him in the face.

"Snow?"

He opened his eyes and gasped to see that he was no longer in the forest, instead, he was in a winter wonderland, snow practically smothering the ninja before it even hit the ground.

"Wh-what's going on?!" Dororo struggled to stand, the snow freezing his body as it piled up around his ankles "where did all of this snow come from?!"

"Dororo!"

Dororo flinched as the woman's voice sounded again. He squinted into the snowstorm "wh-who there?! Show yourself!"

Suddenly, a blue figure appeared before him, it wore a blue dress and had a white hat in the shape of a hair bun.

Dororos mouth fell agape as he recognized it "m...mother?!"

Dororos mother stood shivering in the snow, clutching something small and rectangular to her chest, yet the snow was falling so thickly that he couldn't make out what it looked like. All he saw was his mothers face.

"Dororo!" She wailed once more, looking scared and pale "Dororo!"

Dororo wanted to stumble over to her and hug her, yet confusion rippled throughout his body.

"Why is she calling me by my new name? I never told her that I changed it from Zeroro..."

"Zeroro..."

Dororo froze as a deep males voice sounded behind him over the whirling wind, he looked back and stared in horror at a dark purplish blue Keronian with metal claw like gloves and three small red eyes.

"Jirara?!" Dororo felt his mind spin "but... But I killed him!"

"Zeroro, focus!" Jirara snapped, the wind not fazing Dororo's former mentor in the slightest "we came to train, not to waste time!"

Dororo struggled to take a step back in the now very deep snow "I-I..."

"Lose your fear!" Jirara suddenly lashed out and delivered a back handed slap to Dororos cold face, making him cry out and fall into the snow "it makes you weak!"

Dororo squeezed his eyes shut and struggled to stand, then blinked as he felt something around his arm that was not there before. He lifted his hand and gasped to see a metal band wrapped around his wrist. He grabbed his hat to find that it was in the form of his old hat.

"I-I'm wearing my old assassin attire!" Dororo felt his mask to feel the sleek metal of a gas mask over his mouth "when... When did that happen?"

"Lose your connections! Every last one!" Jirara growled "heart is meaningless to an assassin! Kill all in your way!"

Dororo could still feel the sting of Jiraras hit on his cheek "what's even happening?!"

He looked back to his mother to see that she was staring at Jirara, her eyes wide "is... Is she crying?"

His mother suddenly reached out, aiming to grab something, yet she seemed to be ignoring Dororo now, all of her attention focused on Jirara.

"No... Mother stay away!" Dororo tried to push her hand away and hold her back, the wind howling even more loudly then before.

"He's dangerous! He'll hurt you! Get back, mother! Please!" Dororo forced himself upon his mother, holding her close and constantly trying to get her away from Jirara. But his mother seemed planted to the spot, silently crying and staring at the cold hearted killer that now stared back at her over Dororos shoulder.

"M-Mother!" Dororo wailed as she started to walk towards him, almost in a daze "no! No!"

He looked back at Jirara, who, to Dororos horror, had started walking forward as well.

Dororo yelled and tried to stop his mother, yet nothing fazed her as she walked through the snow with an unknown strength.

He looked back at Jirara "d-don't hurt her! Please!"

Jirara ingored him and continued walking.

"M-mother!"

She ingored him as well.

Dororo gritted his teeth and flung himself upon Jirara "don't you dare hurt her!"

He pushed back against him, the cold stinging his skin like millions of bees now "get away! Stop! I won't let you harm her!"

He started punching Jirara, who's skin was as hard as a rock. Yet Dororo ignored the pain and continued punching what felt like a wall.

"Stop! Stop! STOP!"

Yet it was all in vain, for both his mother and Jirara were now just a foot away from each other.

In desperation, Dororo grabbed the metal band around his wrist and a pink sword made of light shot out "I'll kill you if you take another step!"

"Go ahead" Dororo froze at Jiraras awfully calm voice "it's not like that will separate us"

"what does that mean?" Dororo thought and looked at his mother, her tears continuing to fall.

His eyes widened as he saw them reach out to touch one another.

All of the questions left his head as he lifted the light sword above his head "N-NO!"

He squeezed his eyes shut and swung it downward, but just as he did, a blast of heat struck him from all directions, making him scream and collapse, the snow gone and replaced with pine needles.

Dororo scrambled up into a sitting position, breathing hard as he recognized the endless forest, he frantically grabbed at his hat to feel that it was back to its veil like self, and his mask had turned back to cloth.

"M-my ninja garb..." He checked his wrist to see that his old bracelet had gone.

"What just happened?" He stood up on shaky legs and looked around.

Both his mother and Jirara were gone.

His eyes instantly went to the stump he had previously sat on, and blinked to see something laying there.

"A book?" He blinked and picked it up, it had a blue and pink cover on it, and the moment he opened it, he nearly dropped it out of shock.

"these... these are the diary pages me and Kururu found when we were separated from everyone else!" Dororos jaw went slack "o-oh my god... they're all here! but I thought these were torn out!"

he reread every single page, his heart filling with sorrow as he reached the page he had seen while awaiting death by the cannibal.

"she must have been in such misery..." he sighed and turned to the next page, which presented the words he had not seen yet.

_"I hate him_

_every bit of him_

_his eyes, his skin, his voice, his cloths_

_all of him!_

_at first he seemed nice to me_

_he seemed like a gentle man_

_helping me out of the transporter, kissing the back of my hand, greeting me with kind words..._

_but the moment after the wedding it all changed_

_he forced me into his fortress of a summer home and started yelling_

_"You need to learn to respect me!" he said "I say what goes, and you will always be obedient!" _

_he hurt me, nearly broke my arm._

_then it got worse_

_he dragged me up to his room_

_he said he wanted a son to take over his successful business _

_ ..._

_****** would never do that..._

_never..._

_I want to go home_

_I want to be away from this awful man._

_I want ****** to hold me close_

_I want him to say that it will be alright... like the night before I left_

_but no... he can't... because we're light years away, never to see each other again._

_I miss you ******"_

Dororo stared at the page in horror "o-oh... oh no..." he quickly turned to the next page.

_"It takes 3 months for a baby Keronian to develop and become ready to be born..._

_for 3 months, he was nice to me..._

_for 3 months, he didn't touch me..._

_but I still loathed him._

_the birth went smoothly, I went into labor right when the doctor predicted, and the baby was very eager to get out. _

_the painkillers, however, didn't cover all of the pain... but I dealt with it._

_It was a boy, just like that awful man wanted, yet he looks nothing like him. The baby has my skin, my eyes, my face, my everything... our only difference is gender..._

_He's such a sweet little thing as well, never cries unless he needs to... but I'm suspicious_

_I'm starting to think that this man isn't his father... I think his father is ******_

_I don't know why... maybe its mothers intuition... _

_I think I see some of ******'s gentle side in him... maybe... I'm not sure._

_but if ****** is indeed his real father... I can only hope that the revolution will come soon..."_

Dororo blinked "revolution? whats that about?" he thought as we went to the next page.

_"That man is evil..._

_Every time he even glances at my baby, his eyes flood with greed. he wants my baby boy to become a monster behind a desk just like him._

_I dont want it... I dont want it..._

_But I can't do anything, the chip must be kept hidden..._

_I have to sacrifice my baby's innocence to protect many people... _

_Why is life so cruel?"_

Dororo felt a pang of pity for her "poor girl..." he whispered and turned the page.

_"My little boy is now 5 years old..._

_He can walk and talk, he loves to play in the garden._

_despite how proud I am of him, I'm scared._

_His 'Father' started to talk about a fail safe..._

_I have yet to know what it is"_

Dororo turned to the next page.

_"the fail safe is just me having another baby..._

_right after he told me about it... he did it again..._

_3 months later, I had another baby... like he wanted, another boy" _

Dororo shuddered and put the book down "h-how awful..." He squeezed his eyes shut "I don't think I can bring myself to read anymore of it..."

He turned away "I can only hope that her suffering has ceased..."

Dororo looked at the blue sky "what kind of test is this? How do I pass it?"

Dororo sighed and started to walk away from the book and the stump "how can I possibly-"

he was cut off as something suddenly barreled into his side, making him scream and fall down, a warm and soft weight pinning him down.

He looked up at whatever and gasped "wh-what the-"

he was cut off yet again as the thing that had tacked him flicked out a long pink tounge and licked his face.

"Z-Zeroyasha?!" Dororo sat up, his eyes wide as his old canine friend continued to lick him "wh-what... How did you get here?! And..." He blinked "why... Why are you so small?"

The puppy version of Zeroyasha yipped and planted his small paws onto Dororos chest and continued licking his face, making the ninja sputter and try to push him off "appthhhk! Z-Zeroyasha! Y-you nut! S-Stop!"

Zeroyasha barked right in his face and began to chew on his mask "OI! Zeroyasha!" Dororo pushed Zeroyasha off "Jesus Christ!"

Zeroyasha barked and began racing around Dororo, who was still recovering from Zeroyasha's entrance.

"Wh-why is he here? And how did he get so... Small and puppy like?"

Dororo started to stand up, but yelled as Zeroyasha suddenly lunged at him again and took him back down into the pine needles.

"Z-Zeroyasha! Off!" Dororo commanded and pushed the puppy off once more "I don't like that!"

Zeroyashas tail dropped down as he wined, his eyes becoming sad and his head tilting downward ever so slightly.

Dororo sighed and rubbed his head "ok, ok, I'm sorry..."

Zeroyasha's eyes lit up and his tail started to wag once more. He yipped and trotted around Dororo as he stood up "no jumping" Dororo said sternly "I don't like it when you jump on me"

Zeroyasha barked and started licking Dororos leg, making him squeak and hop away "g-geez..." Dororo sighed and reached down to pet his head "how did you even get in here?" He blinked "or... Are you not real? Obviously your not real... Your not a puppy!"

Zeroyasha barked again, and began teething on his fingers "y-yeow! Zeroyasha!" Dororo pulled his hand away and looked at the red marks Zeroyasha's baby needle teeth had left on his hand.

He gritted his teeth as they began to sting "now THAT hurts!" He shook his hand around. Zeroyasha didn't seem to understand the fact that he had hurt him, and continued to nip at Dororo "ow! Ow! Bad dog!" Dororo jumped away, yet Zeroryasha followed and continued biting.

Dororo started to run away, Zeroyasha, of course, followed him, nipping at his heels like a cattle dog.

"Yeow! Ouch! Z-Zeroyasha stop!" Dororo cried "please! That hurts!"

The only thing he got for a response was another series of barks and nips, making him cry out and shoot up a tree.

He clung to a branch and looked down at Zeroyasha, who was looking up at him with a half open mouth, as if confused.

"Biting is bad!" Dororo called down to him, hoping that he could understand him "I don't like bad things! And I won't come down when there are bad things around!"

Zeroyasha just stared at him, looking innocent and ignorant.

Dororo sighed and sat down on the branch "jeez..." He rubbed the bite marks Zeroyasha had left on his blue skin "that stings so much..."

He closed his eyes "ok... Think... Why is Zeroyasha here? What does this test want me to do about this?" He rubbed his head "he obviously needs to learn respect... But he's just a puppy, and I don't condone to phisical abuse..."

He looked back down at him "perhaps a good talking to... Yet he's a dog... He can't understand me!"

Dororo muttered something under his breath, then cleared his throat "Zeroyasha!" He called down to the pup below "I'm coming down!"

Zeroyasha barked and sprang up as if out of joy. Dororo sighed "but if you bite me, I'll come back up here, where you can't reach!"

Zeroyasha blinked "rrrr?" He tilted his head to the side.

Do you understand?" Dororo pointed at the red marks on his legs "no more biting!"

Zeroyasha stared up at him for the longest time before sitting down and tucking his paws underneath him.

"Is that good?" Dororo bit his lip and started to slowly ease his way down the trunk of the tree "are you going to be a good boy now?" He asked Zeroyasha.

Zeroyasha barked at him again, not moving from his spot.

Dororo slowly went over to him and placed a hand onto his head "uh... Good boy?" He said as he petted Zeroyasha.

Zeroyasha barked again, and pushed his head up against Dororo, his tail wagging.

"Huh... I guess that did it..." Dororo continued to pet Zeroyasha's head "good boy!"

Zeroyasha jumped up and barked again, a joyous look in his eye as he continued to welcome Dororos petting. Dororo chuckled and sat down against a nearby rock and let Zeroyasha place his small puppy head onto his lap.

Dororo couldn't suppress the warm fuzzy feeling that swelled up from within him as Zeroyasha began to settle down, his tail wagging and his breath hot against Dororo's leg.

"That was quite a change..." Dororo rubbed Zeroyasha behind the ears "at least he's much more calm now..."

Soon it came to Dororo's attention that Zeroyasha was asleep, letting out tiny yips and barks as his feet twitched as if he was running after something in his dreams.

Dororo couldn't help but smile "wow... That is quite adorable..." He watched Zeroyasha's chest rise and fall "jeez... I'm pretty tired myself..." He rubbed his eyes "I... I could sleep for an entire... Entire..." He started to nod off, his eyes closing "ngh... So... So... Sleepy..."

He suddenly fell to the side, his body perfectly fitting against Zeroyasha as he was slowly falling asleep.

"W-wait... The test... I-I can't..." He forced his eyes open "I can't fall asleep!"

He sat up and struggled to stand, pushing Zeroyasha off him and waking him up. He wined and looked up at Dororo as he began to stumble away "wake up! Wake up!" He gritted his teeth "I need to complete the test! I need to..."

He stopped as he heard Zeroyasha whine from behind him "s-sorry buddy... But I have to go" Dororo didn't look back.

He heard him whine again "your not real anyway, I can't get distracted by you..."

Just as Dororo said that, something changed, Zeroyasha did not whine. Instead, a thunderous growl came from behind Dororo, making him turn around with a gasp to see Zeroyasha once more... But it was all wrong...

Zeroyasha was no longer a puppy, he was a grown dog like Dororo had last seen him in the real world, yet he was not at all like the original Zeroyasha.

His fur had become matted and greasy, his tail even worse. His differently colored eyes glowed unnaturally, and both his claws and teeth that grown to a ridiculous length. The scene was so shocking and horrifying, it woke Dororo right up and made him scream.

This monstrosity that used to be Zeroyasha let out a roar and lunged at Dororo, who snapped out of his shock instantly and dodged the attack, breathing hard as he raced away into the trees.

"What the hell just happened?!" Dororo thought as he heard Zeroyasha blundering through the trees after him "he just turned into a monster!"

Dororo didn't dare look back as he raced along the forest floor, he could hear Zeroyasha snarling and racing after him "h-he's going to eat me alive if he catches me!"

He took a breath and leaped off the ground and into the treetops, hoping that it would slow Zeroyasha down, but he only got another obstacle to face.

For one, he had finally reached the end of the forest...

The thing that now faced him was a cliff and an endless ocean...

Dororo screamed as he plummeted down towards the water, he could hear Zeroyasha screech as he followed him.

Dororo stuck the water with a splash, making his body sting from the force of the impact, yet he didn't have time to react in any way for he could hear Zeroyasha hit the water right after him.

He squinted his eyes through the water and let out an underwater screech as he saw Zeroyasha's fangs reaching out to meet him.

He struggled to swim away, yet the waves of the ocean make it difficult "o-oh god! Oh god!" He could only flail in the cold salt water and pray for the best as Zeroyasha was now only an inch from his face.

Dororo squeezed his eyes shut "did I fail? Am I going to die?!"

He continued to struggle, yet nothing happened for the longest time. He opened his eyes to see that Zeroyasha was gone.

He jerked away in surprise, his mouth agape and filling with salt water "what?!"

He looked up, the surface of the water was also gone, and there were no more waves.

"I-I'm going to drown!" Panic flared to life within Dororos chest and he struggled to swim upward, but a current pulled him back down.

"No! NO!" Dororo grabbed at the water above him "I can't fail! Everyone depends on me!"

He could feel his lungs burning, and he thrashed around in the water "I can't breath! I can't-"

he opened his mouth out if panic and took a breath, water did indeed go down his throat yet...

There was no pain...

Dororo blinked and breathed again, once again, no pain.

"I-I'm breathing underwater?!" Dororo looked around wildly "wh-what the heck?!"

He stiffened as the water around him got darker "wh-what's happening?!"

Soon, he couldn't see anything at all, it was all black and cold.

"Where am I?" Dororo let himself drift along in the darkness "why is it so cold?"

He blinked as something sparked within the corner of his eye. He turned to see a blue light shining through the darkness "what is that?" He found himself swimming towards it.

The light seemed to envelope around him, comforting him slightly as it made the darkness not seen as terrifying "what's going on? What's the source of all this light?"

He felt those questions be pushed aside as the light began to fade away, leaving Dororo alone with a pair of blue eyes staring back at him.


	90. Yellow

Kururu stared at the ground in between his feet, his fingers twitching.

"He must be doing well since we're not dead yet..." Kururu thought and bit his lip "yet he's taking forever... How long are these tests?"

His thoughts were interrupted as a yellow glow caught his eye. He looked up and sucked in a breath as the yellow door was glowing much like the blue one.

He could hear commotion beside him, and he knew that the rest of the platoon saw it as well.

He didn't listen to them though, he knew what the light meant... Dororo had won his part...

Kururu tensed before trying to lift his foot off the ground.

It came up easily, and Kururu clenched his fists as he knew what it meant.

"My turn... Kukukukuuuu..." He said aloud, and the room went silent.

He started to walk over to the door, his eyes burning from the intensity of it. He pushed it open and gritted his teeth as the light began to swallow him whole. But before he walked completely in, he looked back at his platoon and smirked.

"See you later, idiots... Kukukuuuu!"

He could hear their surprise at the insult, yet it was just a way of calming himself down... Kururu gulped and vanished into the light, the door closing behind him as he did.


	91. Hospital

Kururu rubbed his eyes and squinted as the light faded away, leaving what looked like a hospital for Kururu to see. He was in the main lobby, and all was silent and still.

Kururu frowned and started walking forward, past the registration desk and over to the stairs, not trusting the elevator to his left. Yet the stairs were blocked by a weird metal shutter thing, making him cuss and go over to the elevator.

"It's fairly new... Defiantly Keronian tech..." Kururu thought as he went into the elevator and blinked as he saw that the elevator could only go down.

"Weird..." He pushed the lowest button, which was 12, and staggered as the elevator suddenly shot down, making him weightless. He grabbed the hand rail and braced for the elevator to stop.

1...

2...

3...

4...

5...

Kururu gritted his teeth.

6...

7...

8...

9...

The elevator seemed to be speeding up.

10...

11...

Kururu braced himself for the sudden weight.

12...

13...

Kururu blinked "k-ku?"

14...

15...

"Wh-what?!" Kururu stared at the floor counter.

16...

17...

18...

Kururu lashed out and pushed the shit out of the emergency stop button.

19...

"STOP DAMIT!"

20...

Kururu cried out as the elevator jerked to a stop, making his legs give out and crash against the floor.

"F-fuck..." Kururu hissed and held his knee as the elevator doors opened with a ding.

Kururu stumbled out, clutching his chest "wh-what the actual fuck!?" He looked at the elevator.

He blinked and looked around, it looked as if he was in a medical wing of some kind, a lone door was to his right. A sign hung over it.

"Birthing bay #1?" Kururu read the sign aloud "kukuu... That's a stupid name..." He pushed it open.

Beyond the door was a white room, a bed surrounded by curtains as in the corner.

"Ku..." He went over to it and pulled the curtains back, and covered his mouth as he did so.

The pillow and headboard of the bed was completely soaked with blood, as if someone was killed by a destructive blow to the head while sleeping or laying in it. He looked around, no sign of a baby or a doctor... Or a body...

He frowned "blood is fresh... The kill was recent... Of was it?" Kururu walked out of the birthing bay "ku... A test like this could easily manipulate itself... For all I know that's not even real blood..."

He continued walking down the medical wing, looking at the doors that he came across "ku... Surgery... X-rays... Incinorator... Cafeteria... Wait..." He walked backwards and looked at the door labled Incinorator "the hell? Why would one of these be here? This should be in a morgue..." He opened it up and looked inside.

There was a steel table and a incinorator, the symbol on the hatch of it looked shockingly familiar.

"That's the Kerons military symbol..." Kururu frowned "why is that in a hospital?"

He opened the hatch slowly and peeked inside to see a massive heap of soot. Kururu covered his nose at the distant smell of burnt flesh and peered at the mound "recent... No one bothered to clean it... Ku?"

Something was sticking out of the mound, something shiny. Kururu hesitated before reaching a hand in and pulling it out. Kururu sucked in a breath as he recognized the six pointed star that Keroro had described to be the symbol of the Seers.

It was painted gold and was attached to a golden chain, somewhat burnt but otherwise fine.

Kururu examined it closely "a Seer was roasted in here..." He frowned "but again... It's possible that its not real..."

He stood up, holding the necklace by the chain "this can't be gold... It would have melted..." He wrapped the chain around his wrist "obviously this is a item I need... Why else would it be practically presented to me like that?"

He walked out and deeper into the medical wing, passing several rooms as he went.

"This looks more like a prison then a hospital... Every bed is kept in a reinforced room and most doors have a lock which requires as pass code..." Kururu thought as he peeked into an X-ray room full of X-rays of what looked like broken bones.

"Did they treat criminals here?" Kururu narrowed his eyes at an X-ray of a spiral fracture on someone's right arm "that explains the military's symbol..." He looked at the necklace "but why would the test take me here?"

Kururu was about to continue walking when he heard something behind him. He turned around to see something light brown flash by him. He sputtered and jumped back as it nearly crashed into him.

Kururu spun around to watch the brown thing slid to a halt down by a door with no label. Confusion hit Kururu like a hammer when he saw that it was a little brown monkey.

It shrieked at him, it's yellowish brown eyes narrowed in a mocking manner, and Kururu froze when he saw that it had a necklace around its neck that was parallel to the one Kururu had found.

Kururu looked at his wrist and cussed to see that the necklace was gone "you little... Give that back!" Kururu snapped at the monkey.

The monkeys tail just curled up and it shrieked again before charging into the unmarked room, Kururu growled and followed it "why you-"

He was now in a dark hallway, the monkeys voice echoing throughout it. Kururu started walking "get back here!" He started following the monkeys voice. He cussed when he saw that a nearby air duct had been wrentched open, the shrieks of the monkey coming from within it.

Kururu stood still and listened to the monkeys footsteps as they echoed across the hallway and airducts "based on what I've seen so far... This is basically a prison... Meaning there are bars and other means of blockades in the air ducts that allow air to flow though..." He thought as he walked along the wall, focusing on the monkeys footsteps "about every three meters... So... He'll turn down a different path when he mets it... Or turn back..."

He looked at the ceiling "but monkeys are smart... He knows I'll be waiting for him... So he'll go down a different path... And judging by where the entrance is positioned... He'll be going... This way..." Kururu started walking faster "there should be another exit... That's his goal... But there's another blockade... There... And there... So he's going this way... Then that way... Then the exit he wants should be..."

He started running, and rounded a corner to see another exit "...right here..."

Being as quiet as possible, he crouched down by it. His hands out and ready for the monkey that had yet to arrive.

He held his breath as he heard it coming closer, and prepared for it to leap out.

The moment he saw a flash of brown, he lunged out and attempted to grab it, his eyes squeezed shut.

He mentally cussed as his hands hit only open air, but his thoughts stopped dead when something metalic wrapped around his hand.

He looked at it to see the necklace that the monkey had stolen... Right where he had last seen it before the monkey had nabbed it. He sputtered and looked around "where's the monkey?"

He spun completely around to see the monkey sitting a few feet behind him, it's lips curling up to show white teeth much like Kururus. Kururu quickly stood up and took a step back as he saw its eyes start to glow yellow before springing away down the hall.

Kururu stared at the space it had once stood, then looked down the hall just in time to see it vanish around another corner "whatever that is... It's not any ordinary monkey..." Kururu narrowed his eyes and followed it.

Kururu stopped when he reached the end of the hall, a yellow door fixed into the dead end.

Kururu could hear the monkey behind it, the constant shrieks and chirps of it making Kururu even more curious about what it was doing. He grabbed the yellow doorknob and flung it open, taking a step back at what he saw.

It was a dark room, a small table sat in the center, the monkey was seated upon it, it's eyes still glowing yellow.

Kururu frowned and walked in, the door closing behind him "what do you want?" He crossed his arms.

"Your quite smart" Kururu jumped back with surprise when an echoey voice came from the monkey when he expected no response at all "but knowledge is useless if you cannot think outside the boundaries of logic"

Kururu looked at it "ku... So?"

"Can you be creative?"

"Kuku! That's a stupid question, of course I can. I can make anything-"

"can you understand the misunderstood?"

Kururu blinked as he was interrupted "k-ku? What does that mean?"

"Can you... Solve a riddle?" The monkey smiled again, it's teeth flashing in the half light.

Kururu furrowed his brow "of course I can... I'm not stupid"

"knowledge has nothing to do with it..." The monkey's eyes glowed even more fiercely "lets begin..."

Kururu blinked as the monkey shifted around a bit "what word is so fragile, even saying it, breaks it?"

"Silence" Kururu said immediately.

"What goes up when things come down?"

"An umbrella"

"What has a foot but no legs?"

"A snail"

"Poor people have it, rich people need it, if you eat it, you die... What is it?"

"Nothing"

"I'm tall when I'm young, I'm short when I'm old... What am I?"

"A candle"

"if I drink, I die. If I eat, I'm fine... What am I?"

"A fire"

"What travels around the world but stays in one spot?"

"A stamp"

"what walks on four legs, then two legs, then three legs?"

"A Pekoponian"

"my, my... Your quite quick on the draw" the monkeys smile widened and its tail began waving around behind it.

"That's because these are easy..." The monkey leaned forward "how about some things you have never heard before? For example... What drinks rocks and chews water?"

Kururu blinked "ku... I..."

"You don't know... Because its an old Seer riddle" Kururu stiffened as the monkey went on "you're smart, but you don't know everything... But who can blame you? Seers are good at hiding... The answer is a child after a wertractional surgery... The medicine they give is made of crushed up diamonds and common gravel mixed with a rare and editable liquid chemical... They are not aloud to eat anything besides the medicine and water, so they chew ice to keep their jaws active"

"th-that's bullshit! wertractional isn't even a word!"

"Not to defaults" the monkey snickered "but to Seers, it is... In fact, that wasn't even a riddle! It was just common sense!"

Kururu gritted his teeth "your playing with me, aren't you?"

"Of course not! I'm just saying that you're not the smartest creature in the universe like you think you are!" The monkey cackled, it's tail lashing through the air "if you complete this test, and the rest of your friends complete theirs, then everything will become crystal clear!"

The monkey narrowed his eyes "and then... You'll wonder if it was even worth it..."

Kururu blinked "what does that mean?"

"Your the genius! Figure it out!" The monkey sprang off the table and up onto a ledge that jutted out of the wall "and if you can't, just wait for your enemy to lift the curtains for you!" He called as he vanished into a hole right above the ledge, leaving Kururu alone in the dark room.

Kururu stared at the hole, lost in thought "what does he mean? Why wouldn't destroying hell not be worth it?" Kururu snorted and looked around the room, seeing another door that led deeper into the unknown "it must be a plot to distract me from the test... I have to ignore it..." He walked over to the door.

Kururu looked at the necklace around his wrist as he opened the door "if Dororo can do it... So can I..."

He looked at what lay beyond the door and stiffened. The entire hallway that he faced was made of long, thick wires that stretched out into the darkness. He hesitated before stepping on them. They stayed rigid beneath his feet.

Kururu bit his lip and started to cautiously walk down the wires. Deep into darkness.

He flinched as he heard a small zap, and a spark of yellow light flashed in front of him. Kururu krept closer, his skin tingling "what the hell is going on?"

A door suddenly appeared out of the darkness, startling Kururu. He stepped back and looked at it. It was made of metal, wires spilling out from underneath it.

Kururu gritted his teeth and pulled it open, then stepped in. The sight that lay before him took his breath away.

One massive super computer lay on the wall opposite to him, the entire room made of wires. It's ceiling stretched high above his head and a giant monitor rested against the wall over the massive computer. It was currently off.

Kururu stepped forward, constantly letting out a small 'ku' now and then.

In front of the computer sat a chair with a weird helmet attached to the head rest, many wires came out the back.

Kururu walked over to it, and noticed that a flat and rectangular strip of metal was covering part of the helmet, so it would block out the wearers eyesight.

Kururu narrowed his eyes "what the heck is this? It's impressive... And it looks like a fancy version of an oculus rift..." Kururu peeked under it to see that the sheet of metal had a monitor on the side that faced inward "am I meant to wear this?"

Kururu looked at the monitor that was on the wall "Hmph... Maybe I should-"

he stopped dead when he saw the monitors screen glitch out a bit, then flicker to a fuzzy image of a dark brown Keronian.

"Put it on" a staticky voice came from it, making Kururu freeze.

"That... That sounded like... No... No it's not him..." He shook his head "that can't be him... He dosent matter to me... No..." He gritted his teeth and lifted the helmet up so he could get into the chair.

He lowered the helmet onto his head and looked at the dark screen that he now faced "alright... It's on... Now wa-"

before he could finish, a visual popped up in front of him... A loading screen...

Kururu gripped the armrests of the chair, trying to banish the voice he had just heard from his memory. His teeth were grinding together.

"It's fake... He's not there... He never will be there... He means nothing to me anymore"

Kururu stopped when the loading screen vanished, and was replaced by a colorful set of text.

"What... 'Yellow world'?" Kururu read aloud "what is this? A video game? There's no keybo-"

he couldn't finish his sentence, for something sharp and painful suddenly pricked the back of his head.

"K-KU!" Kururu jerked away and tried to take off the helmet, but it was for some reason stuck to his head.

"They used his voice to distract me!" He thought as he suddenly couldn't feel his arms or legs "so I wouldn't think right! So I would..."

His thoughts trailed off as the rest of his body went numb, his vision fading, making the last thing he saw before loosing consusness was that title.

Yellow World.

...

Kururu groaned as light seeped through his eyelids, waking him up and bringing him back to reality.

Kururu slowly sat up, his entire body tingling. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, taking a step back as he did.

He was no longer in the wire coated room, he now stood in a room made completly of gold. It shined so bright that it hurt Kururus eyes.

Kururu rubbed his eyes again and turned to see a small chest that looked... Pixelated...

Kururu stared at it for a bit before walking over and hesitantly opening it. It opened up with a creak and a harsh, yellow light glared out from within.

Kururu squinted and pushed the chest all the way open, the light soon fading and revealing a yellow rod, it's sleek, matalic surface baring a pattern one would see on a circuit board.

Kururu picked it up, surprised by how light it was. He pulled it out and nearly dropped it out of surprise when it's ends suddenly stretched outward, making it three feet long.

Kururu stared at it, his hands tingling where they were making contact with the staff, as if it had been charged up with some sort of low voltage, low enough to be noticeable, yet not painful to the touch.

"A light metal..." Kururu frowned "and judging by it's size, shape and length, it could possibly be used as some sort of lightning rod..."

He looked around "kukukuuu... What now?" He said aloud "or are you just dumping useless crap upon me?"

The golden room gave no response, yet Kururu could feel the room grow oddly colder, the lightning rod he held suddenly zapping with electricity.

Kururu flinched and dropped it... Or at least he tried. The rod was stuck to the palms of his hands.

"Ku! Ow!" Kururu gritted his teeth and shook it around, trying to get it off "ku! Ku! Ku!"

He squeezed his eyes shut as the electricity grew stronger "gah! G-get off!"

Pain was usually enjoyable for Kururu, but there was no pleasure in the searing pain that engulfed his hands. He could hear the zapping, he could feel his hands vibrating from the constant shocks, and he could practically smell his own flesh roasting against the rod.

Kururu fell back and onto his side as the pain continued, his eyes still squeezed shut as an ego degrading scream escaped him.

He thought he was going to die, this was worse then when the mad scientist had brought the chainsaw down onto him... Mostly because it was lasting forever.

"I can't fail the test... I can't!"

He struggled to stand, but the pain kept him down. His entire body now vibrating like crazy.

"No... No!"

His eyes flew open, he expected to see the burnt and smoking leftovers of his hands. He expected to see the bone and muscles showing through, he expected to see the source of what he would feel for forever more.

But he was to shocked by the blast of relief that crashed into him like a wreaking ball.

The second he opened his eyes, the rod had vanished, along with the smell and pain of his burning hands, and was left with a game title saying "Yellow World" and a heavy metal helmet on his head.

Kururu frantically grabbed at the helmet and yanked it off, not caring that it fell and crashed against the ground, breaking the screen and machinery inside.

He stumbled out of the chair, his mind and eyes spinning... Along with his stomach.

Kururu panted, clutching his stomach and holding back the urge to vomit "what kind of game was that? And what does that have to do with the test?" He thought, falling to his knees.

"Tsk, your such a baby"

Kururu flinched and looked up to see the little brown monkey from before sitting in front of him, it's eyes still glowing.

"Wh-what the hell do you want?!" Kururu spat, almost barfing right there an then.

"I want what you want... For you to pass the damn test... And let me tell you, your doing a horrible job at it"

Kururu bared his teeth "L-Like you know how..."

"Of course I know how! I'm the cheat sheet!" The monkeys tail flicked with annoyance.

"The... The... What?"

"you heard me! I know exactly what needs to be done! and I have been so kind as to help you! leading you here, giving you riddles..." The monkeys tail flicked at the six pointed star that was still around Kururu's wrist "I even put that stupid thing in the incinerator!"

Kururu narrowed his eyes "ku... Then what do I do next?!"

"Ha! Like I would help you again! I've been holding your curry stained hand long enough!"

The monkey thrusted it's chest out as its lips curled back into a smile "to bad... If only you could read my mind!"

Kururu wanted to strangle the brown puffball so bad.

He growled and looked away, beginning to plot the little primates murder. But he stopped when a lightbulb went off in his head.

"If only you can read my mind!" The monkey's thoughts echoed throughout his head.

He stood up and rushed over to the helmet and picked it up.

he looked back at the monkey, which was still there "so he doubts my intellect... I'll show him..."

Kururu peered into the helmet, his eyes narrowing as he saw the cracked screen.

"Can't be fixed... But the visual is still legible..." He instinctively reached up to his headphones for the hidden set of mini tools he had stored there, but stopped halfway when he realized that he might not have them anymore.

He cussed and went with it anyway. To his surprise, the compartment popped open and his fingers grazed the fine points of his tools.

He didn't bother to question it and pulled out a mini Philips head.

He started to pick at the helmet, digging deep into the mess of wires and circuit boards.

"This runs that... Which connects to that... An this..."

He pulled out some tiny tweezers from his headphones.

"Just disconnect this... And this... Move it here... And there..."

He moved onto another part of the helmet.

"Solar power and a Keronian battle ship battery? How old school..."

Kururu was sweating now, his glasses flashing white as he got lost in his work.

"Reroute that... With this... Add this... Power that... Don't need this..."

He stopped talking aloud and stepped back to look at the wires spilling out of the helmet.

He pulled out a wrench and loosed many of them, then pulled them out and placed them in new locations.

He wiped the sweat off his head and glared at the monkey, who was silently watching him.

He couldn't help but smirk as he pulled out a glowing purple circuit board from his left head phone and stuffed it into an open space in the helmet's machinery and connected several wires to it.

The monitor up on the wall suddenly flashed on, a crazy, and highly trippy, black and white design that was constantly changing, came on. Kururu rushed over and grabbed the monkey, which for some reason did nothing as Kururu dragged it over and dumped it in the chair "look at it" he instructed and put the helmet onto his own head and stood next to the chair.

Kururu stared at the loading screen that greeted him, but he once again felt the prick in the back of his head and all went dark once more.

...

Kururu couldn't help but gasp as he was dragged into a world complete with towering buildings made of metal and a sky full of lightning.

Along with the crackle of electricity, there were screams of pain and fear. Yellow blurs flashed by him as the screams grew louder and louder. The buildings around him were begging to break down and fall, black figures crawling along the destruction, their eyes red and purple smoke bellowing off them in massive waves.

Kururu was frozen to the spot, unable to move as the wails of terror grew louder and louder even though several were being silenced by the second.

"My home... My children..." Kururu flinched as a women's voice, soft yet powerful , echoed through his mind, and a pair of golden yellow eyes suddenly blocked out his vision, full of pain and sadness.

"All of them, dying, screaming, wailing for their mother... Is this truly what he wanted?"


	92. Red

Giroro wanted to pace. He wanted to walk back and forth across the whole damn room. Yet he was still frozen to the spot, and that infuriated him so badly.

He could only twitch his fingers and think, images of his brother and his father would be what he focused on.

"When we get out of here, you'll be the first I go to... Unless Natsumi is home... Or... If she's there at all..."

Giroro bit his lip, the fact that they still had no clue if the Hinatas where really in the void with them or not really worried him.

"The sooner we shut down the void, the better"

Something suddenly flashed in front of him, something red.

He winced and covered his eyes, then slowly lowered his hands to see that the red door was glowing violently, almost on fire.

He heard commotion from Keroro and Tamama, obviously overjoyed with the fact that Kururu had succeeded. But Giroro couldn't make a sound.

He could practically feel heat rolling off the door in waves, warming his face and chest like he was standing outside and facing the hot summer sun.

He let out a shakey breath and attempted to raise his foot.

It lifted with ease.

Giroro stared at his foot, then at the door, then back to his foot. After a while, he straitened his back and started walking.

The heat grew stronger and stronger as he came closer to the door. He thought it would burn his hand to a crisp if he touched it, yet as his fingers skimed the red surface, nothing but a bitter cold swept up his arm.

He gritted his teeth and ignored the cold as he pushed it open, refusing to recoil as the red light that poured out engulfed him, luring him deeper and deeper into the unknown until the door was able to slam shut.


	93. Dungeon

Giroro staggered as the light faded. He rubbed his eyes and looked around to see that he was in a massive dungeon type setting. Torches lit by red flames lined the walls, but they did little to warm the icy cold air that the dungeon contained.

Giroro looked around and started walking, his eyes uneasily darting around, checking for any movement at all.

He shivered against the cold and rubbed his shoulders "j-jeez... If it doesn't warm up soon, I'm going to catch hypothermia..."

He looked at the red torches "what do I do? Just keep on walking?"

He looked at the stone that he walked on "this looks awfully like the test that I completed inside Keroro's mind..."

He froze as there was a noise from behind him, he shuddered and slowly turned around to see something black on the ground behind him.

Giroro backed away as the black thing started to wiggle around, and to Giroros horror, grew two glowing red eyes.

The creature let out a shriek that made Giroro tremble with fear, and the thing began to grow from the size of an apple to the size of a Keronian.

Giroro wanted to yell and run away, but fear kept him planted to the spot... At least, until the thing started to advance upon him.

Giroro gasped and spun around to run, he could hear the creature shriek and run after him, red torches became a blur as Giroro raced by, his legs working hard and each breath growing harsh and almost painful for him to take.

Many turns and forks in the road challenged him. Without thinking, he raced down whichever he randomly choosed, focusing on nothing but making as much distance between himself and the devils spawn that was chasing him.

After a while, the shrieks of the enemy faded away into the distance behind him, and soon grew into silence, making Giroro believe that he was in the clear, and that he had lost the creature.

But fear kept him running. He ran and ran until even his tough, battle fit body couldn't take it anymore.

He gradually came to a stop and collapsed against the wall, dehydrated and exhausted, he slid down the wall and onto the floor. Each breath making his lungs burn like an Australian wildfire.

He rubbed his legs, which were throbbing horribly along with his feet. Never had he run so frantically, not even in military camp.

The cold stone beneath him was the only comfort he had. But it was an odd feeling. There was a raging fire that seemed to be consuming every internal organ and bone within him, and the icy touch of Jack Frost's unwelcoming kiss on the outside.

Yet the cold was the only thing Giroro wanted right then and there. He embraced it with open arms, silently begging it to calm the pain that prevented him from moving further on.

"What a horrible start..." Giroro squeezed his eyes shut "the moment I walk in, I get jumped and I run like a scary cat... How unlike me!"

He opened his eyes a bit to see his hot breath leaving little droplets of water on the cold floor, the sweat that ran off him in rivers was slowly adding to it.

"How long have I been laying here?"

Giroro weakly sat up, his head spinning with the lust for water. He looked around, dazed and thirsty. Nothing to quench his thirst... Except...

He hesitated before looking at the sweat that resided on his skin. He knew it was disgusting, and probably wouldn't work... But what choice did he have?

He lifted a sweaty and stiff arm to his mouth and began to lick the salty liquid off. The blast of flavor that flew over his tongue like a graceful stallion made him realize just how deprived of nutrients he was.

"This is delicious... Jesus, next thing I know, I'll be drinking my own blood!"

Like he thought, it didn't help his thirst. The only thing it did was help the hunger that Giroro had managed to ignore burst out from behind the mental curtain that he had put it behind.

He clutched his stomach and cussed, his eyes scrunching up as the pain continued.

Hours seemed to pass as he continued to sit there. Hunger keeping him down... He felt weak and tired, still panting from his long, long run.

He was so distracted that he didn't even hear the footsteps that approached him.

He stiffened as he realized that he was no longer alone, and looked up. Expecting to see the black creature, yet all he saw was a child.

Mind you, this child towered over him. But only becuase it was a Pekoponian. A little Pekoponian girl with curly blond hair and a pink dress with a six pointed star pattern on it was standing next to him. She looked no more then 7 years old.

Giroro jumped up out of surprise, but instantly regretted it as he remembered that his legs were no exactly fit for jumping around at the moment, and collapsed with a yell.

The girl gasped and covered her mouth, her brown eyes wide with concern "a-are you ok mister?"

"Ngh... I..." He started, but trailed off as he looked up at her from the floor.

"Mister?" She crouched down so her face was closer to Giroro.

Giroro wanted company more then anything, but the six pointed stars that covered her dress made him speechless.

"She's one of those Seer people... That or she's Jewish... But most likely a Seer..." Giroro thought and slowly sat up.

He looked at the girl dead in the eye "who are you?"

The girl sat down "My name is Judy..."

"Ok then 'Judy'" Giroro tried to sound as nice as possible "why are you here?"

The girl named Judy flinched and looked down, and Giroro winced as he realized that she had begun to cry.

"H-hey... Don't cry... I didn't mean to make you sad" Giroro mustered all the strength he had left and stood up, his knees knocking together.

She covered her eyes "th-they're dead..."

"H-huh?"

She looked at him, tears spilling down her cheeks "m-my mom and dad... They're... Dead..."

Giroro felt like someone picked up a shard of glass and just jabbed him in the stomach. He stumbled over to her shoulder and gently touched it "I-I'm so sorry..."

"They... They killed them..."

Giroro blinked "who?"

What a rhetorical question.

"Th-the evil black people... With red eyes..."

Giroro felt sick, someone's parents had been once again, murdered by the servants of the Void's king.

"All because we didn't get here sooner..."

Giroro wanted to apologize, he shared her grief and wanted to let her know, yet the roar of his own stomach interrupted him.

Judy looked at him "w-was that you?"

"S-Sorry... I..."

He was cut off once again as something brown was suddenly pushed up against his lips.

bread?

"M-me and my parents were camping when they were killed..." The girl forced a smile "m-my mom loved cooking fresh bread over the fire..."

Giroro was shocked, and was only thinking of three things.

_Bread = food_

_food = no more hunger_

_I haven't eaten in what feels like fucking decades_

It took all of Giroro's willpower to carefully take the heavenly piece of bread and split it in two "you can just give me your food" it killed Giroro deep inside himself to say that.

He handed her the bigger half "you need some too"

Judy blinked "b-but..."

"But nothing. A child's life is more important to my own"

Judy stared at him a bit before hesitantly taking the peice of bread that Giroro held out.

Giroro watched her take a small bite out of if, then savagely tore at the peice of bread he now held.

At first he thought that it would be stale with age, but it was suprisingly fresh. And buttery... So... Very... Buttery...

not only was it buttery, but it was warm... WARM... Giroro had to summon all of his manliness to not cry tears of joy.

He stopped going so fast when he found difficulties with swallowing the large mouthful he now held. He started to take his time, and that made the flavor soar even higher then before.

"M-mister?" Judy whispered "h-have you not eaten for a long time?"

Giroro barely heard her over the sound of his own chewing. He nodded and swallowed "y-yea..."

He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. His friends were far away, two waiting for everyone else to complete their test, and two others prevented from going on becuase of him... They probably had no food, no water... Not even a blanket for warmth...

He looked at the perfectly cooked peice of bread that he held "they would absolutely love this..."

He wanted to run back to the entrance and toss what he had left to Keroro and Tamama, but he knew that couldn't be done.

Giroro stood up, his stomach and legs feeling much better. He looked at Judy "how long have you been here? This bread is awfully fresh..."

Judy looked down "it was made only a few minutes ago..."

"But you said that your mother... Oh..."

Giroro was shocked. This was a little girl, only 7 years old, her parents were brutally murdered, and she was literally just dumped into a scary place, and her first concern is giving bread to a stranger.

"Y-you must be one tough kid..."

Judy looked at him "m-my mom was more tough... She was even tough when they came and..."

"D-don't relive such a horrible memory..." Giroro stopped her before she could go on.

Judy sniffed "bad memories make the good ones better..."

Giroro blinked, there was truth to her words, yet it was to optimistic for his liking. Yet he kept his mouth shut and went back to eating what was left of his bread.

Bread is known to expand in your stomach after bring swallowed... Everyone knew that... But this bread expanded HARD. Giroro clutched his stomach out of suprise as it grew so much that it made him full.

That peice of bread was no bigger then The palm of Giroro's hand, yet Giroro was now stuffed and highly satisfied.

"Wh-what kind of bread was that?!" Giroro sputtered, his eyes wide.

"Just some simple old bread... It's really common around my neighbor hood... Why?" She frowned "mister... Why are you acting so strange? It's just some bread"

"it tasted and feels like magical bread!" Giroro pointed at his stomach "I feel like a glutton after thanksgiving!"

"Why? It's nothing special... It doesn't even taste that great"

Giroro stared at her "are you kidding me?! That had to be the best bread I have ever eaten on my LIFE!"

Judy cocked her head to the side "your are very strange..."

"Through my eyes, you're the one that's strange..." Giroro muttered and looked down.

Judy tucked the part of bread that Giroro had given back into a pocket of her dress "are you mentally challenged?"

"Wha- are you calling be stupid?!" Giroro glared at her.

"N-no! You're just not acting right!" Judy held up her hands.

"Believe me, I'm acting right! I've been acting right ever since I got in here! If I couldn't act right, then I wouldn't have such a good milirary rank!"

Judy froze, her eyes widening "wh-what?"

Before Giroro could respond, Judy stood up strait and backed away slowly, her hands trembling "n...no... No..."

Judy suddenly spun around and raced away, startling Giroro with her incredible speed and out of the blue move.

"H-hey!" Giroro shuddered as he remembered the creature that had chased him before "w-wait! Don't go! It's not safe!"

Giroro ran after her, yet he failed to catch up due to him still being tired. She vanished around a corner, and as Giroro followed, he saw that she was long gone.

"Sh-shit..." He wobbled after her, tripping over his own feet.

"don't let that abomination find her... Please... Please... PLEASE!"

Giroro stumbled up to a fork in the road "crap... Which one did she go down?"

He took a guess and went left "what the hell was that about anyway? All I did was provide evidence that I wasn't stupid... Did I say something bad? Did I offend her? Even so, how?!"

Giroro hobbled along "she's just a little girl... Oh god... I have to find her!"

"J-Judy!" Giroro called out, his fear growing "please! Come back! It's dangerous!"

He heard something up ahead and around a corner. It was like a squeak. Giroro blinked "Judy?"

Something did indeed come out of hiding.

But it sure as hell wasn't Judy.

Giroro stared in horror at the monstrosity that looked down on him. What once was his hight and build was now twice as large as him, black muscles and purple veins bulged out of its dark skin, and it's red eyes glowing even fiercer then before.

Giroro covered his mouth before yelling and running. The creature shrieked and raced after him.

Despite his leg's overwhelming protest, Giroro ran like the flames of the devil were after him... And in a way, that was exactly what was happening.

Giroro snagged a torch off the wall and threw it back at the monster without looking. He could hear the crack of the steel handle hitting it head on, but that just pissed it off.

He charged through the dungeon until once again, the monsters screeches faded away. By then, the adrenaline had gone, and Giroro was weak once more.

He hit the ground with a solid thud and lay completely still. The cold once again soothing his burning muscles, yet the fear remained.

Giroro stared at the continuous pattern of stone bricks that resided on the floor "I'm being hunted... I ether have to kill it or escape... But I have to find Judy!"

He wanted to get up and keep searching, but he was immobilized.

"Even if I had the chance... I wouldn't even attempt to kill it... It's so... Terrifying..."

Giroro shuddered at the awful memory of its figure alone. He sat up and against a wall, still breathing hard.

"What's wrong with me? I don't get scared this easily... Then..." He looked at his hands to see that they were shaking "wh- why do I quake in fear whenever that thing pops into my mind?"

He rubbed his head "oh god... Judy... Why did you run?"

Giroro rubbed his head "n-not only is that thing terrifying... But... But it GREW! It could be growing some more right now!"

He attempted to stand, but fell back down "J-J-JUDY!" Giroro yelled "C-COME BACK!"

_"Judy isn't coming back..." _

Giroro froze, his body going still as a rock.

_"She's gone... Gone... Gone... GONE..." _

He looked down the hall to see a black mass completely blocking the hallway, two red eyes poking out of it. They shined horribly as a metallic voice continued to echo throughout the halls.

_"It's all your fault... You should have shut up..." _

Giroro scooted away, his eyes wide as he made out a pair of shoulders and horribly sharp fingers sticking out of the mass.

"No... No she's out there... I'll find her!" Giroro yelled back at it.

_"Oh, I think you already have..." _

Giroro felt himself grow cold as ice as one of the sharp claws hooked onto something that lay in front of it. A peice of pink fabric covered with six pointed starts... Completely drenched in blood...

Giroro couldn't move... Couldn't speak... Couldn't breath...

"Judy? Dead? Already?"

The memory of the buttery breads savory flavor passed through his mind, making him feel sick and making him let out a wet, uncontrollable sob.

The mass drew closer and Giroro cowered away, his eyes locked onto the pink fabric.

"She was so young... Too young... I failed her..."

The red eyes glowed so strongly that it distracted him, making him look up at the near certain cause of his death that was looming over him.

"I'm going to die... I... I failed... I failed the test... I failed everybody!"

He lowered his head "how could I? Dororo did it, Kururu did it, Keroro and Tamama WOULD have done it... Oh god... What have I done?"

He braved himself for the pain, and at the same time, lifted his chin up at the creature.

He kept his eyes closed "just do it already... I already failed... I know that... Just get it over with!"

Silence...

Giroro waited.

Even more silence...

He hesitated before prying open one of his eye lids, then both of his eyes flew wide open.

The eyes that were once way above his head were now just a few inches above him... The mass no longer covering the entirety of the hallway.

"It... It... Shrunk?"

The monster looked totally akward, it took a full minute to realize what had happened and let out an ear splitting roar into his face.

Giroro yelled and covered his ears, fear returning into his mind.

Giroro looked up again to see that it had returner to it's massive size, but that just puzzled Giroro even more.

"Wh-what's going on?" He whispered aloud.

The creature suddenly squeaked, and it once again shinked, this time, to Giroros eye level.

Realization dawned on Giroro, and as it did, his hands stopped shaking.

"I-it grows along with my fear!"

The moment he thought that, the creature shrunk again, this time, to the level of Giroro's belt buckle.

"This makes so much sense! Your not so terrifying anymore, now are you?!"

It shrank again, whimpering like a puppy.

Relief of his success was suddenly replaced with anger. He glared at the fabric that was still hooked in the creatures now tiny claws.

Giroro stood up, and snatched the fabric away from it. The pain in his legs now long forgotten.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Giroro snarled, his steel grey eyes reflecting the red torches on the wall, making it look like his eyes were on fire.

The creature shrank away from him, his size continuing to decrease.

"She was a little girl! She was innocent! Yet you KILLED HER!"

Smaller and smaller the creature got, soon is was the size of a dollar bill.

"And for what? WHAT?! What was there to gain?! Where you just bored? WAS THAT IT?!"

He towered over the black little mound that used to frighten him. But all of that fear was gone now, every last bit.

The creature shrunk until it couldn't shrink anymore. It was barely the size if a US dime.

"I don't care if you've been suffering along with us! I don't care that you hate this place!" Giroro's fury was unmeasurable at this point.

as he glared down at the creature, thinking of what to say next, something suddenly appeared in his head, something like a phrase, yet he couldn't make out where or who it came from.

Giroro narrowed his eyes "many people... Must have attempted the same test... What did you do to them? I'm guessing you didn't just kill those people huh? Did you torture them? Did you manipulate them? Hell... I'm betting to guess you even raped a few of them..."

The creature whimpered and backed away on the cut short toothpicks it now called legs.

"For some reason... I know exactly what to do... Almost like instinct... Except I haven't felt this way before... Not once..."

He let a growl escape him "you need to be punished for your sins... For some reason, that's exactly what needs to happen... I know that now..."

The creature squealed in fear and tried to wobble away, but Giroro was faster.

In one swift motion, he lifted his foot and brought it down hard upon the thing.

It went so fast that it didn't even have time to scream.

Giroro could feel its now fragile endoscekition collapse against his foot, he lifted it to see a black smear where that thing had once been.

"You were so pathetic... So weak... You died the moment I made the slightest impact upon you... You died so fast that you didn't feel pain..."

Giroro looked down "maybe that's for the best... No one deserves to die painfully here... In a way, I gave you a better fate then anyone else could... But... You sure as hell didn't deserve it... In my opinion..."

He looked at his hands "I don't decide what the laws should be... I only follow them... And that's exactly what I did..."

Giroro flexed his fingers, and glared at the black smear a final time before turning to walk away.

"This was justice"

The moment he said that, the cold lifted from the air, and the unknown temperature of the red torches made itself known.

Giroro gasped and clutched his chest as a reaction, it was so warm. He looked at the torches to see their red flames curl towards him, and soon, they flew out of their positions completely.

Giroro couldn't make a noise to express his shock as the fire from every torch within the dungeon grew and grew, their long flames wrapping around him, turning grey stone to molten lava, a world of fire and heat engulfing him, yet refusing to burn him.

Giroro felt his feet leave the ground as the flames carried him high up, someplace the ceiling had prohibited him to go, yet that ceiling was now gone.

And all Giroro saw up there was a pair of red eyes that burned fiercer then the flames that now carried him.


	94. Orange

Tamama and Keroro refused to separate their established eye contact, since they couldn't reach out to touch each other, it was all they had to comfort one another.

"s-sarge?" Tamama eventually broke the silence.

"Yea?"

"You were BI a long time before you saved me, weren't you?"

Keroro blinked, then looked down "so?"

"You've seriously been hiding it all this time?"

"I didn't know I was BI, I thought I was strait..."

"How did you confuse the two?"

"I-I didn't... I just... I grew up sorounded by undesirable boys..."

"Oh... So you didn't notice?"

"Pretty much... The only reason I didn't get attracted to you sooner was becuase your really young and... I think my subconscious wanted me not to be a pedophile..."

"Wait... What?"

"Well, look at you, your a teenager... Underage... I wouldn't want to-"

"no, no, hold up, I'm not a teenager!"

Keroro flinched "I-I'm sorry if that offended you! B-but I still think that-"

"no! Sarge! I'm literally not a teenager!"

"Wh-what?"

"I'm 19 you goof!"

Keroro stared at him "n-no your not"

"yes I am!"

"B-but you still have your tail! And your cute little boy voice!"

"That's becuase I never hit puberty"

"wait... You... What?!"

"I never hit puberty!"

"That's impossible!"

"It's not! Apperantly it's a disease of some kind..."

"Who told you that?!"

"The orphanages medic..."

"Well, he must have been high as a kite becuase that sounds like bullcrap!"

"Yea, but-"

Tamama was cut off by the door right in front of him suddenly glowing bright orange. Making him squeal and jump away.

Yes, he jumped away.

Tamama fell back in suprise and looked at the door with wide eyes "w-whoa..."

He scrambled up and raced over to Keroro, who was still frozen in place, and hugged him tightly "d- don't worry... I'll be back..." He buried his face into Keroros shoulder.

Keroro squeezed his eyes shut "p-please be careful..."

"I-I will... Don't worry..." Tamama pulled away and for the first time, he kissed him.

It was a small kiss, innocent and short lived, yet Keroro almost burst into tears when it was over.

"Please come back to me... Don't let me lose you..."

Tamama smiled and gave him a final hug before backing away and to the orange door.

"you won't... No matter what..."

"I-I love you..."

"I love you too..."

And just like that, Tamama was gone. Deep within the orange light, and now far away from Keroro.

Keroro wanted to cry, he lowered his gaze to the floor, yet something made him blink and look up at the orange door, which had stopped glowing.

"W-wait... Did he say... Orphanage?"


	95. Anthill

Tamama stared up at the walls that sorounded him, his eyes went wide to see a dark tunnel carved into what seemed like dirt.

It was dark, Tamama almost couldn't see, yet something bright shined against the corner of his eye.

He looked over to see what seemed like orange glitter, tiny shards of orange gemstones shaved into a powder. This powder glowed orange faintly from an unknown source.

Tamama picked up a tiny pit of it, and gasped as it shocked his hand. He hopped away from it and continued walking "w-well... There goes a possible source of ligh-"

he stopped when he saw several more embedded withing the tunnels. It was as if the ground had been full of the things before someone made the tunnel.

Tamama walked along the dimly lit path, hesitating as the ground slightly vibrated.

He squeaked and looked around "wh-what's going on?"

He hurried along, and eventually came across several holes within the tunnel walls, each one leading to many more tunnels and passage ways.

Tamama shuddered as the ground vibrated again, and something like a pitter patter could be heard.

Tamama narrowed his eyes at the tunnel that the noise was coming from "h-hello?"

Suddenly, something large came out of the tunnel. Something big and black.

Tamama screamed as the biggest ant he had ever seen came out.

The thing wasn't your typical 'giant ant' which was as big as your hand. Oh no, this thing TOWERED over Tamama, it's pinchers clamping together, and it's antenna twitching.

Tamama screamed again and ran away, he could hear the ant going after him. He ran into another tunnel and barreled into a room full of seeds.

"I-I'm in a giant mother fucking anthill!"

Along with seeds, there were several more ants. They swiveled their heads to look at him, their antenna perked.

Tamama froze and slowly scooted away and along the wall, hoping to dash away through another tunnel, yet the ant from before burst out of the route Tamama had taken for means of escape and lunged at him.

Tamama screamed and fled down another nearby tunnel.

At the drop of a hat, every single ant in the same room did the same.

the tunnel was narrow, so only 3 ants could stand side by side, yet as Tamama looked back, the six beady eyes and three razor sharp pinchers were enough to scream yet again.

Tamama rounded a corner and nearly crashed into something red that blocked his way. He screamed and skidded to a halt, falling flat on his butt.

He looked up to see yet another ant, but this one was different.

It was significantly smaller, and instead of being black, it's entire body was bright red.

"A...a fire ant?"

Tamama barely had enought time to think that as the rest of the ants rounded the corner after him.

Tamama gasped and dove underneath the fire ant and scrambled out on the other side. He quickly picked himself up and continued running.

He looked back just in time to see the fire ant, who seemed dazed and confused by the sudden appearance of Tamama, being mercilessly trampled by the black ants who paid no attention to it whatsoever.

Tamama dove into yet another tunnel and frantically grabbed at the soil around it.

Of course, that crumpled and fell down to block the entrance, but of course, that set off a chain reaction.

Tamama screamed and unlocked his inner Indiana Jones as he ran away from the avalanche of dirt and orange pixie dust that followed him. After several feet, the earth finally stopped falling, leaving a several foot thick wall between him and the ants.

Tamama stopped for a breath, but kept going as he began to hear the ants digging at the newly made wall.

Tamama looked around as he hurried along, several more tunnels connected with the one he was currently in. He rushed up the closest one and popped out into another giant room completely full of seeds.

"H-how much food do these guys have?! Jeez!"

Tamama peered around for any sign of ants before going through a new tunnel.

"Ok... The entrance is up... So... I just go up..." As he ascended a steep slope, he was able to make out a dead end.

"Or... Maybe not..."

He turned back and tried another tunnel.

"alright... Lets try..."

He stopped dead as he came upon a very large room, absolutely full of large white pellets.

Tamama stared at them, then looked up to see several ants making their way through them, nudging them gently as if checking up on them.

"O-oh my..."

He ducked out of sight before the ants could notice him. He covered his mouth so his breathing was muffled.

He peeked out from his hiding spot "If I'm caught here, I'm so screwed..."

Tamama turned to leave down the tunnel he came, but something bumped into his side before he could complete his 180.

Tamama froze and looked up to see something red hovering over him.

Tamama stared up at the fire ant from before, rather large specks of dirt stuck to its body, one of its antenna was slightly crooked.

Tamama was about to scream, until he was silenced by one of the fire ants hairy legs lifting up and swatting him over the head.

Tamama gasped as the force of the almost playful slap knocked him down and onto the floor.

With dirt now in his mouth, Tamama spat and coughed while laying on the ground. He looked back up at the ant as it lowered its head to look at him better. It's massive pinchers grazing Tamamas head.

Thats when Tamama feinted.

...

Tamama awoke in a odd place, the ground was rough and slightly hairy, and was constantly shifting around beneath him.

He groaned and lifted his head, and oddly enough, saw two large antenna in front of him, along with the head of an ant facing away from him.

Tamama blinked as he realized that he was laying on the back of the fire ant.

He barely had time to react as an orange glow sillueted the ant's head, startling him greatly.

The fire ant scittered into a very, very large room, the source of orange light coming from a large orange crystal that lay in the center of the room, nestled up against it was a massive ant.

This ant made the rest look like dwarfs. It's large body swollen and Tamama could see white pellets being carried away from its rear by other ants.

"Oh god! It took me to its queen! She's gonna eat me! Shit!"

Tamama was about to leap off the fire ant and make a break for it, but all of the possible exits were soon blocked off by other ants, who had come running as they had sensed that a foreign creature was near their mother and queen.

One very large black ant came up to the fire ant, which bowed its head and shrank away.

Tamama looked at the fire ant, it was obviously submitting and almost afraid, yet it's gaze wasn't on the ant that was now in front if him, it was focused on the queen.

But the ant in front soon got its attention by delivering a sharp bite with its pinchers to the fire ants body, the fire ant jerked away becuase of the pain, almost knocking Tamama off.

Tamama gripped the ants hair and held on for dear life as the black ant was about to do the same thing again. But it froze in mid strike, and backed away so it could turn to look at the queen.

The queen was shifting around, her antenna twitching, and all of the ants in the room seemed to move like a liquid as they backed away from her and the fire ant.

Tamama took this time to look at them, every single one of them was black with large pinchers, yet the fire ant that he was riding had smaller pinchers and was obviously different from them all.

It was a completely different kind of ant, and Tamama wondered why an ant colony would alow an outsider to live with them. They obviously didn't like nor trust it.

The fire ant slowly approached the queen as her antenna spazzed around even more. And with a shake of its body, sent Tamama rolling off with a squeal.

Tamama landed with a comedic thud, a cloud of dust bellowing out and away from him as the fire ant dipped its head respectively.

Tamama coughed and looked up to see the two completely different ants exchanging gentle touches of the antenna, before the fire ant backed away and spun around so it was right beside Tamama once more.

Tamama blinked "w- what? Do you want me to get on you again?"

The fire ant twitched.

Tamama sighed and grabbed at its hairy body, pulling himself up and onto its back again "don't shake me off again..."

The fire ant twitched its antenna and scampered away, lowering its head as it passed by the black ants. Tamama thought he saw hate shining in their beady eyes.

"I must be imagining things..."

The fire ant raced throughout the passage ways. Black ants scooting out of their way as they passed, and Tamama soon realized that they where going solely up.

As they went higher and higher, the orange dust embedded within the walls began to grow scarcer, making it darker and hard to see.

Tamama squeezed his eyes shut and hung on tightly as the fire ant began to ascend up an almost vertical slope.

"A-are you taking me out of here?" Tamama called into the darkness.

Tamama realized how stupid he was, the only way for the ant to respond was via antenna twitch, and to see the antenna, he needed light, which was now long gone.

The fire ant eventually came back to horizontal ground, and even through there was no more orange dust, it was oddly light.

Tamama looked around to see several ants crawling alongside him and the fire ant, as well as above. Some where going, some where coming back from the source of pale light.

The fire ant fought against the tide of ants until it was able to crawl up the wall and through a hole in the ceiling, all the while, Tamama was holding on for dear life.

The fire ant soon popped out of the earth, the light of day almost blinding Tamama, who had gotten used to the dimly lit halls of the anthill.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes before looking around, and came to realize something.

All this time, he thought they where giant ants, he thought that they where horribly mutated by radiation.

Instead, it was he, who was very small.

In front of him stood a giant ass house, it's door alone seemed to reach for the heavens. Compared to it, the anthill was puny.

But what confused Tamama most is what kind of house it was, and where it was.

First if all, star shaped clouds floated across the sky, and the house was an average middle class house...

A Keronian one.

"I'm... On Keron?"

Tamama spun around, the grass of the houses lawn was so tall that it blocked his view of the neighboring houses and streets. All he could make out was a tall as heck tree with white bark.

he looked down at the fire ant "b-but your supposed to only be on Pekopon... Right?"

The ant twitched and started to crawl away through the stalks of grass.

After a while, something bright green and yellow flashed against the sunlight, making Tamama wince and cover his eyes.

he peeked out from behind his hand to see a massive bag, it's reflective surface almost radiant in the sunlight.

It looked awfully like a snack bag one would get in a vending machine, the label of it was hidden by grass, but Tamama recognized the coloring.

"Huh... I used to love these..." Tamama hopped off the ant and made his way over to the dark chasm of its opening "oh... Oh wow..."

As a child, the size of the snack seemed small, but now that he was smaller then an ant, it was massive. It was a large sugar coated nut, once big in popularity on Keron, but it was soon forgotten as other items grew in fame.

"I don't even remember what these were called..." Tamama looked at the fire ant, who was staring at him with its head cocked to the side.

He looked back at the nut to see that most of the sugar had been scraped off, yet the solid mass still remained.

"Why haven't you taken this back? Is it to heavy or something?" Tamama looked back at the ant "I didn't know that ants gave up..."

The fire ants antenna drooped and it scampered into the bag and over to the nut, and clamped down onto it and tried to drag it out, it didn't even budge one bit.

"Even if you could get it back, I don't think it could fit through the tunnels..."

The fire ant let the nut go and lowered it head.

Tamama sighed and went over to it, and have it a good punch.

...

"OOOWWWWW!"

The fire ant backed away as Tamama hopped around, holding his wrist "ow! Ow-w-w-wwww!"

Tamama stuck his now bruised hand into his mouth, trying to numb the pain "mmmpphhh..."

He took his hand out of his mouth and looked at the fire ant, who just looked at him "what are you looking at?"

the ant looked away and back at the nut.

"All you need to do is break it apart, but the things rock solid... Hm..."

Tamama grabbed the nut, and with a loud grunt, attempted to roll it over, but the inside of the bag beneath him was so slippery that he couldn't get a good enough footing.

He backed away "a-alright then..." He got behind the nut so he was facing the mouth of the bag, the nut blocking most of the scenery outside.

"Ok... Alright... Get back!" Tamama yelled at the ant before puffing his chest out, a golden glow beginning to appear behind his teeth.

"TAMAMA..." He began and started to suck in air until his eyes watered.

"IMPAAAAAACT!"

The fire ant barely managed to avoid the blast of raw energy that erupted out of Tamama's mouth. The nut. On the other and, wasn't so lucky.

It went flying out if the bag along with Tamama's impact. But as Tamama's impact began to fade away as it went on through the sky, the nut curves downward and picked up speed.

It slammed into the tree, and a satisfying crack was heard, but Tamama was more worried about the tree then the nut now, for it tilted slightly to the left now.

Tamama stared at the slanted tree "o-oops..."

The ant waited as Tamama scrambled onto its back again before hurrying over to the tree. The nut treated the poor plant like a bullet. It had split the trunks surface and created a hole, but the hole was not deep enough for the nut to be unobtainable.

Tamama looked into the hole to see that the nut had a massive crack along it, the only thing that kept it in its nut like shape was the edges of the hole.

The fire ant reached in, it's small pinchers fitting perfectly into the hole and latching onto a large shard of nut.

It came out fairly easy, and the fresh scent of it attracted even more ants.

Tamama looked around as black ants came from all directions, watching the fire ant pull piece after piece of nut out of the hole.

The fire ant twitched its antenna at him and stepped back for them to try.

A few approached the hole, their pinchers getting stopped for they were too large for the hole. They began picking at the tree, enlarging the hole as the fire ant watched Tamama climb off.

"Now what? Surly I move on?" He looked at the fire ant "I'm pretty sure I did what I had to do... Right?"

He and the fire ant stared at each other for a while. "Why did the queen let you stay?"

The fire ant tilted its head.

"It's obvious that you don't belong... None of the others like you... Even if the queen wanted you to stay, it should be hard to live under such hate and suspicion..."

The fire ant looked down.

"Yet you still stay... Is it because you had no where else to go? Or you had something to prove?"

"Or... Or did you just love her a lot?"

The fire ant looked back up at him, and continued to do so until the black ants started to carry the nut shards away.

It grabbed a large one and lead the conga line of ants all the way back to the anthill.

It never even looked back, only a flick of its antenna signaled a farewell.

Tamama stared after it, and continued staring as all of the ants vanished behind the stalls of grass.

Tamama then looked up "I didn't know ants could feel that way... The more you know..."

He started to walk away "I guess the nut was a big deal to them... Maybe they will treat him better now..."

Tamama looked down at the earth "what did I learn from this test? Nothing that I already knew... In fact, I don't feel that differ-"

he stopped dead as he felt the ground shake beneath him, his eyes widening as it began to actually crumble beneath his feet.

Tamamas shriek was cut short as a ear splitting roar sounded in his ears, inturupting him as he began to fall down through the fresh new hole in the earth.

The orange pixie dust returned, lighting the hole that he fell down, and almost blinding as the rest of the dirt vanished, leaving only orange crystals to sorounded Tamama.

His vision began to fade away to a useless black, only a pair of orange eyes stayed visible for Tamama as the rest of his world faded away.


	96. Green? Light blue?

Keroro shuddered against the cold. He was alone now. Alone and afraid.

"But I have to do this... I have to... Oh Tamama... You can do it..."

Just as he said that, there was a weird cracking noise that made Keroro jump with fright "yee...! Wait..."

He looked at his feet, then at the two doors that were left "do... Do I... Go? Their not..."

Suddenly, green and light blue lights shot out from behind the doors, making Keroro wince and take a step back.

He blinked and looked down "h...he... He did it..."

Keroro literally jumped into the air out of joy "YES! Yes! Oh yes! Tamama! Way to go!"

He started for the door, but stopped himself, blinking "hey... Wait... What?"

He felt his chin, narrowing his eyes at the larger then the rest double door, one of its sides green, the other side light blue.

"Something's off... I can't tell what it is... Oh well..."

He continued walking towards the glowing door, and when he got there, shoved it open so both colored lights could stream out at him.

Keroro gasped and shielded his eyes as he walked into the unknown, leaving behind the room and everything else he would ever be able to call normal ever again.


	97. Sanctuary

Keroro stumbled out into his test, the light beginning to fade away and revealing a bunch of grassy hills, a gentle breeze blowing through them.

Keroro stared at the sight, the sun was rising behind the hills, giving him quite a show "wow... WOW..."

Keroro looked back to see nothing but a rock where the double door was supposed to be.

"Hm... Oh well..." He looked back over at the hills to see some trees in the distance. He started walking over to them, the wind pushing his hat flaps back in the breeze.

"What a sight..." Keroro looked up as he reached the trees, the rising suns light shining through the leaves and casting a soft glow onto the forest floor.

Rocks covered with moss lined a path down deep into the forest. Keroro hesitantly took it, his heart beating quickly.

"What's going to happen?"

He rounded a corner and nearly died of fright as he almost bumped into a statue.

As Keroro recovered, he saw that it was of a large parrot of some kind, it sat upon a pedastool, a chain wrapped around its stone bird ankle and attached to the pedastool.

The words "feed me" were carved into the front of the pedastool, but the "D" and the first "E" where made of wood and drilled on instead of carved in like the rest of the phrase.

"Feed me?" Keroro said aloud "what does that mean? And what kind of bird is this?"

Keroro frowned "humph... Statues don't eat... At least... I hope not..."

He continued down the path, and was surprised to see yet another statue. This one looked like a deer, it's antlers branched towards the sky, creating six points... Or it would have... One of its points had been broken, leaving a cracked and hollow stump.

"Now... That's kind of cool..." Keroro breathed and continued walking.

The path led to a large clearing. Four statues sat in the corners of it, and at the opposite end of the clearing, there was a large stone door with a circle engraved into its center. five holes had been drilled into it, along with a rectangle.

"Huh... That's weir-" he stopped as he turned to look back at the deer, and froze to see yet another statue hidden in the bushes.

He peeked at it and blinked as he saw a large eagle like bird, it's head bowed and a screw driver clamped in its beak.

Keroro looked at the screw driver "huh... That's kind of random..."

He looked back at the four statues in the clearing. One was a horse, a sharp and long horn sticking out of its forehead and a pair of massive birds wings coming out of its back.

Another was a griffin, half eagle half lion.

The third was a dragon.

And the fourth was a gargoyle.

Keroro looked at the griffin and suddenly remembered the conversation he and Tururu had made.

_"I don't this 'Turu' means anything in japaneze..."_

_"It doesn't... But in the seers ancient language it means griffin... You know, half lion half eagle..."_

Keroro started at it. It stood roaring at the sky, it's beak wide open, and its talons digging into the dirt. It's feline rear legs taunt as if it was planing to jump up into the air. It's wings certainly assisted that theory, for they were spread and ready for lift off.

"Tururu..." He whispered aloud "where did you even go?"

The statue gave no answer, so he turned and left. He went back to the eagle and looked at it again.

He searched for a way to get the screwdriver out of its mouth, but there was nothing that made it possible for him to do so.

He frowned and crossed his arms "well... Darn..."

He looked at its talons to see that one was slightly bent, it's sharp claws digging into something small and rounded.

Keroro crouched down and examined it "is... That a walnut? Seriously?"

He poked at it, managing to ease it out of the eagles talons and looked at it.

It was defiantly a real walnut. Keroro examined it closer "hm... Wait..."

He walked back to the statue of the parrot "feed me..."

He dropped the nut and stomped in it, wincing as it cracked underneath his foot.

He picked up the editable part and went over to the parrots mouth, and jammed It into its beak, which was slightly parted open.

Suddenly, there was a weird clank from behind the statue, and Keroro could hear something landing on the ground behind the statue.

Keroro blinked and looked behind it to see a sword, it's blade embedded deep into the earth. He grabbed it and yanked it out to see that it was very long, almost like a sword a knight of old would use but with a modern touch to it.

"Holy, holy..." Keroro muttered and examined it closer "but... Why would a parrot give me a freaking sword?"

He walked back to the clearing "I don't see how a sword wou-"

he stopped dead as he looked up.

The four statues were still in their previous forms, but something had changed.

Their heads had now swiveled to look at him.

they were no longer in fierce positions ether. Now they all were sitting calmly, their tails neatly wrapped around their feet.

Keroro held his newly obtained sword out for protection and backed away "ah... Ohhh boy..."

Keroro shuddered as he walked along, freezing midstep as he saw their heads actually turning to follow him.

"Now... That's creepy..."

Keroro looked at the griffin and blinked as he saw something dangling from its beak.

Keroro crept over, it's gaze still following him, but that only made it easier for him to get a look at the object.

A white key.

Keroro blinked and reached up to grab it, but the griffins head suddenly jerked upward, the key getting yanked out of Keroro's reach.

Keroro cussed and looked at the other statues.

The winged and horned horse also had a key on its body, this one was hanging around its horn and dangling down in between its eyes.

Another key rested in the dragons mouth, sticking out from in between its fangs.

and yet another key dangled from the gargoyle ungodly large human like hands, its thumb pressing down on the key to keep it in place.

Keroro groaned "c-come on now!"

He went over to the horse and started to climb up its back, yet the horses head swiveled around to block him.

"F-fuck..." He slid off and tried to yank the key out of the gargoyls hand.

It wouldn't budge.

Keroro managed to climb the dragon and reach the head without it moving, but its jaw refused to slacken and release the key.

"damn! Open up!" Keroro grabbed at the dragon's face "give it!"

After a while, he sighed and slid down the statue and back onto the grass.

He sat there for a while, the sword laying beside him "what am I supposed to do?"

He picked up the sword and jabbed it at the air in front of him, imagining a foe standing there "I have a sword, and I apparently need four keys and a screwdriver... Dang..."

He sighed and stood up. He shuffled away, kicking at the grass as he walked.

"How do I do any of this?"

He soon found himself back at the parrot, his eye catching the D and E made of wood and screwed onto the pedastool on which the parrot sat.

"I need that screwdriver to get those letters off... But why?" Keroro narrowed his eyes "if I switch them around, I'll get FDEE ME... That's not even a word..."

He went back to the eagle and crossed his arms, the screwdriver was still stuck in the eagles beak.

"I need that..." Keroro announced to the statue "but your not letting me have it... Why?"

The statue didn't move not respond, the screwdriver stayed put.

"Please... Just open your mouth... I need it!"

He lifted the sword up "I'll cut your beak off if I have to!"

"What am I doing?" Keroro thought "it's made of freaking stone... I can't just cut through it!"

Keroro gritted his teeth and grabbed the parts of the screwdriver that were sticking out from the eagles beak "If I don't get this thing and do what I need to do with it, people will continue to suffer forever! Is that what you want? HUH?!"

He started to pull on it "everyone is counting on me! I'm the last one! I have to do this or we all will die, and this opportunity will never be available again!"

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled harder as the screwdriver remained in the eagles beak "everyone here needs me! My platoon needs me! My LOVER needs me! And I refuse to be the selfish asshole I was before all of this even happened! SO OPEN YOUR MOUTH GODDAMNIT!"

_Pop_

Keroro screamed as he fell backward, landing in the grass with a thud.

He opened his eyes slowly and blinked as he felt his fingers being wrapped around something round and long.

He gawked at the screwdriver that was now in his hands. He looked up to see the eagles beak wide open.

He clumsily stood up, staring at the statue.

"Uh... Th... Thank you?"

The statue gave no response, so Keroro turned and left.

He ran back to the parrot and crouched down by the letters "a-alrighty then..."

He carefully began to unscrew the letters off, making sure not to lose any screws.

He sat back and looked at the D and the E that lay before him.

"FDEE ME makes no sense..." He muttered, yet he switched them around so they said FDEE ME anyway.

he sat back and stared at the words "humph... Now wa-"

he froze as the screws holding the D in place suddenly popped out, making it fall back into the grass.

"What the..." Keroro picked it up and blinked as he noticed two dark lines on it that he had never noticed before.

One was halfway down the curve of the D, while the other was right at the bottom where the bottom half of the actual curve began.

Keroro blinked, then looked at the saw "uh... Hm..."

He picked it up and started to rub its edge against one of the lines like a saw, and continued until it was completely cut through. Then did the save with the other line.

He lifted up the now altered D, but instead of looking like a D, it looked like a lower case R... Sort of...

Keroro quickly screwed it in place, and stared at the phrase he had just altered.

FrEE ME.

Keroro jumped up and looked at the parrots legs, the chain that was wrapped around its ankle was still there, yet dispite its metal like color, the texture looked wrong. It looked wooden.

Keroro grabbed it and started to stab at it with the sword, making it splinter and break apart, and soon, it was ripped in half.

As soon as it was in two, the parrot suddenly stirred, its wings stretching out and slapping Keroro in the face, making him cry out and fall down.

He looked up just in time to see its stone feathers change colors.

Rough stone became soft and red, followed by yellow and blue. It's beak opened up and let out a high pitched cry, and in a flash, it's feet had left the pedestal.

Keroro scrambled up into a sitting position and watched the beautiful bird fly away, and towards the clearing.

Keroro grabbed the sword and screwdriver and ran after it, stumbling past the deer and eagle as fast as he could.

As he burst from the clearing, he could see the brightly colored parrot perched upon the griffins head, the key that was once in the griffins beak now in the parrots.

Keroro watched as it jumped off, it's wings catching the air and slowing itself down so it could gently land in front of Keroro, the key falling from its beak and landing in the grass.

Keroro knelt down, his eyes wide. He picked up the key "th... Thank you.."

"Thank you!" Keroro jumped back with surprise as the parrot mimicked Keroro's words, its head tilted to the side "thank you! Thank you!"

"Uh... You're... Welcome?"

they looked at each other for a while before the parrot looked at the large stone door and the five holes and a thin rectangle on it.

Keroro blinked "huh... Alright..."

Keroro walked over to it, but blinked as he realized that he had no hope of reaching any of them, for they were far to high up.

"C-crap..."

"You!"

Keroro flinched and looked back over at the parrot, who was flying away, calling out "you" over and over again.

Keroro ran after it, he came to a stop as he saw it land upon the back of the deer statue.

The parrot looked at him, it's beak slightly open.

Keroro frowned "what? I don't..."

The parrot jumped off once again and flew up to the deer's antlers.

"You!"

"I don't understand! What do you want?"

The parrot opened its mouth widely, but said nothing.

Keroro blinked "uh... Wait..."

He looked at the key he now held, then threw it up at the parrot.

the parrot snatched it out of the air, and dropped it onto one of the antlers points. A hole in its handle fitting over the point perfectly and holding it in place.

Keroro blinked "is that what I have to do?"

"You!" The parrot hopped down and back onto the deer's backside.

Keroro looked back at the four statues, then at his sword.

"I guess I have to get the rest on my own, huh?"

Without another word, he ran back into the clearing and went strait for the horned and winged horse.

He lunged at it, grabbing at the stone frantically as he climbed up.

Like before, it's head swung so it blocked him.

Keroro gritted his teeth and grabbed its nose, digging his fingers into its stone nostrils and hauling himself up so he tangled off its snout.

Then, of course, its head started spinning.

Keroro yelled as he was spun around, the world becoming a blur around him.

He managed to grab onto its sharp horn and yank the key off it, that made the entire statue stop moving and send him flying off with a scream.

Keroro hit the grass with a thud and rolled a few inches before stumbling up and racing back to the deer statue.

He tossed the key back up to the parrot, who caught it and dropped it onto another point.

Keroro ran back to the statues, dizzy with adrenaline "now I just have to do that two more times!"

he climbed up the dragon, and whipped out the screwdriver.

He started stabbing at its teeth, chiseling away at the stone tooth that held the key in place.

He sighed as that proved ineffective, then started stabbing it in the eye.

The dragon suddenly started moving, rearing back and opening its mouth wide as if it was roaring.

Keroro gasped as he was thrown off, the key also slipping from its position and falling with him.

Keroro snatched it out of the air right before he hit the ground.

He groaned and held his side, but quickly jumped up after a second of recovery.

"Almost there... Almost..."

After another short encounter with the parrot, and with another key hanging from an antler, Keroro raced back to fourth and final statue.

He looked up at the gargoyle, its devilish face scrunched up with determination and its fist clenched around the key tightly.

Keroro took out the sword "a-alright then..."

He swung it at the fist that held the key, the sword bounced off harmlessly, not even scratching the stone in the slightest.

Keroro gritted his teeth and kept on swinging "l-let it go!"

Nothing.

Keroro stopped for a breather before grabbing ahold of its arm and climbing up to its head "w-well then! I-I'll find another way to get that thing open!"

He swung at its oddly small head, the blade struck the neck, cracking it and letting small shards of stone fly off.

He kept on hacking at it, bit by bit, it was breaking apart.

Keroro grew exhausted, but kept on going.

"I would rather decaptate a statue then let millions of innocents suffer!"

Just as he thought that, the statue's head popped off and shattered aost like glass as it hit the ground.

Keroro panted, constantly blinking "wh... What? But... I-I wasn't even halfwa-"

he was cut off as the rest of the statue began to crumble away, he screamed and jumped off as the entire thing turned to dust and collapsed.

He coughed and rubbed his eyes as the dust filled the air, stinging his eyes.

He looked back at the mound of dust, and quickly got up and started digging through it.

Keroro gritted his teeth as his eyes stung even more but refused to quit until something hard struck his fingers.

He almost cried with relief as he pulled out the key from the dust "I... I did it! I really did it!" He ran back to the parrot, constantly stumbling "yes! YES!"

He tossed it up to the parrot and watched eagerly as the bird did its part and placed it upon a point.

"Finally! Now I-"

he froze, his eyes growing wide as he realized his mistake.

Five points, one broken stump

Four keys.

Keroro fell to his knees "b-but... Where are the others?"

He looked around "the eagle only had a screwdriver... The parrot gave me the sword... I... I don't have..."

"YOU!"

Keroro jerked his head up out of surprise and looked up at the parrot that had suddenly screeched out at him.

"What?"

The parrot flew down, landing right next to Keroro and started pecking at the screwdriver.

"What? What do you want?"

it picked up the screwdriver by a small ring that was connected to the handle.

"If you want it, take it... I pretty much failed..." He rested his head on his knees, but then blinked and looked back at the screwdriver.

The parrot was holding it up by a ring that was connected to the handle.

A ring connected to the handle.

A ring...

Keroro stared at it "is that really a key? A screwdriver?"

At that thought, the parrot flew up and dropped it onto the fifth point.

Keroro jumped up "ah... Yes! Ye-"

he stopped and looked at the broken point "but... Now what?"

He looked at the sword he held "a-all I have left is this... Wait..."

He went over to the statue and started to climb up its rear leg.

Keroro huffed as he finally reached its back, then climbed up onto its head and peered at the stump.

It was hollow, just barely wide enough for a semi thin stick to fit in there.

Keroro looked at the sword and quickly maneuvered the handle into the stump.

Nothing.

Keroro sat there for a while, processing what seemed like his failure.

"Was this all a big waste of time?"

He hopped down and looked up, the parrot was flying away now. It landed right on top of the stone door and looked at him.

Keroro walked over to it "did you trick me? Was it all a distraction?"

"Thank you!"

"Your a parrot! Say something other then that! Answer my question!"

"Thank you!"

"Goddamnit! Stop fooling with me!"

"THANK YOU!"

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

Just as Keroro yelled that, something sounded in the distance.

Gallop... Gallop...

"E-eh?"

_Gallop... Gallop..._

"Wh-what the heck?"

_Gallop... Gallop..._

He turned around for the noise was coming from behind him.

_**Gallop... Gallop...**_

"H-holy..."

**_GALLOP... GALLOP..._**

Keroro screamed and threw himself out of the way as something brown flashed by him, nearly crashing into him.

_**BANG!**_

Keroro covered his ears as the sound if a rough impact rang in his ears. He lay there for a minute as he recovered from the shock of almost being trampled.

"What... What was that? Why... Why did it look like a..."

Keroro sat up and looked at the door.

"Deer..."

a large buck stood in front of the door, its forehead pressed up against the stone and its antlers stuck in all five holes.

There was also a missing point on its antlers, but a sword had been driven into it. The sleek blade fitting perfectly into the thin rectangle that was also on the door.

Keroro stood up, his face showing nothing but awe as the buck began to back up, freeing itself from the door and standing back to look at Keroro.

"Wh... What..."

"THANK YOU!"

Keroro squeaked as the parrot suddenly screamed. The door began to rumble and quiver as it was dragged to the side by an unknown force, revealing a greenish light blue light that nearly blinded Keroro.

He watched as the parrot jumped off its perch above the door and flew into the light.

"W-wait!"

Keroro ran after it, light soon turning to darkness as he ventured farther in, the slam of the door closing behind him was heard, and felt himself falling to his knees as what felt like a wave of sleep crashed over him.

"thank you..."


	98. No other option

Keroro groaned and lifted his head off a cold floor. A greenish blue light pressed up against his eye lids, encouraging them to open.

He lay in a place full of darkness, the light coming in front of him.

Resting in front of him were three figures. One was a bright green and towered over Keroro, it took the form of a large deer, its antlers branching towards the heavens.

Another was a light blue eagle, its wings tucked against its sides and its feathers being rustled by an unseen wind.

One was resting in between them, this one was also bright green, but it took form of the parrot that to Keroro, seemed like a vague memory now.

"wh...what..." Keroro groggily sat up, confused as hell.

"Congratulations..." A voice echoed from the parrot, sounding like both a make and a female at the same time "you have truly changed, dear warrior..."

"Wa... Warrior? What?" Keroro looked at it "what's... What's going on?"

"You've done the impossible... You passed the test with flying colors..."

Keroro blinked "r-really?"

"Of course, you must be confused... Seeing three before you when you expected one... Correct?"

"E-excuse me?"

"We don't exactly blame you... Let me explain..." The parrot hopped forward, its eyes beginning to glow "do you recall the words of Tururu? Six gods must be freed in order to appease Dark and calm his wrath?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Well, as you can see, it's very difficult to free six gods with only five hosts..."

Keroro froze "I... I haven't even thought of that!" Terror overwhelmed him "was... Was it all for nothing?!"

"Not exactly..." The parrot looked at the eagle and the deer "standing before us are two of the children of Moki..."

"Why do they look like... Animals?"

"We are dead... We have no official form... So we decided to alter the seer's mind to project the images of these animals... Why we did is something you will learn in due time, but now is not the time for explaining..."

The parrot looked at Keroro "five of you, six of us... We decided that this was our only change and did something risky... We combined two of us to create one..."

The parrot looked down "however, our bodies could not control the combined spiritual energy, even when combined... So we found the nearest animal spirit that roamed the void and with its approval, fused it with the already combined duo.

Keroro stared with awe as the deer and eagle suddenly began to merge into the parrot "that third spirit was me... The Scarlet macaw..."

At once, the parrots wings changed from green to light blue, and its eyes, beak, and feet turned green-blue, it's eyes glowing fiercely and its body radiating an even stronger light then before.

"As the trio of minds linked together, a whole new conscious was created, one which had the memories of all three, yet a new mind to think with... A new personality..."

Keroro stared at the scarlet macaw "h-holy...then... Then what do I do now?"

"Tururu told you that combining with me would hurt... She was not wrong..." The Scarlet macaw got a bit closer "but this will be twice as painful as it could have been..."

Keroro clenched his fists "th...then do it! If my friends can, I can!"

"They haven't even done it yet..."

Keroro blinked "e-eh?"

"Right now they are suspended in a realm much like this... This is our meeting place... We are all connected here... It will follow you everywhere... They now wait here, the other children of Moki giving them information..."

"Why haven't they combined yet?"

"Because of you..."

Keroro narrowed his eyes "what?"

"You are the leader... Their leader... Their friend... Their comrade... You were the one who managed to change his own personality so you could help everyone survive... You started this chain reaction... Now you must finish it..."

The scarlet macaw leaned forward, its beak almost touching Keroro's forehead "and for the first time in years... They respect you... They trust you... You call the shots and they will follow you through the darkest of times without hesitation... All because you decided to start it... And now I ask... Will you be willing to finish it? Throw your friends into a world of pain to save millions? Will you be willing to experience the terrors and tragedies of this new life I will give you? Do you want to make the ultimate sacrifice?"

Keroro stared at the scarlet macaw for the longest time, processing everything he had said. He had to speak up, he had to answer.

"No"

the scarlet macaw tilted its head to the side as he continued.

"But do I have a choice?"

Keroro stood up "I have been here for what feels like hours... I have seen death and pain wherever I went... Nothing but blood and mold on the walls... And my friends had it worse off!"

He threw his hand out to the side "people are DYING! SUFFERING! Do you expect me to walk away from that?! It's true I'm scared of the pain! Its true I don't want to sacrifice my own happiness!"

His voice broke, and he paused to control it once more "but I am not in control here... This is not my choice... This is THEIR choice! This is THEIR battle! I was only able to make it this far because they NEEDED me to! After all I have seen, nothing was worse then what they are feeling right now!"

Keroro stopped to breath "and no matter how I want to... I cannot walk away... Because no one can just look the other way... No one can... And no one ever will!"

He jabbed himself in the chest "this is your only shot! So do it! Ignore my screams and just get it over with! Help all of those damn people and destroy this hell! Get rid of it! Get rid of the fear and pain! Get rid of the fraction of selfishness that I still have! Get rid if it all!"

He fell to his knees before the scarlet macaw "do it... I'm ready..."

The scarlet macaw stared at him for the longest time, its eyes still glowing.

"You never cease to amaze me... Or any of us..."

And with that, there was a gentle touch of a beak upon Keroro's forehead.


	99. Freedom

The caretaker closed his eyes as the unmanly screams echoed throughout the chamber. Lights flashed from beyond the doors, teeming with potential to blind or give someone a seizure.

The lights continued to grow stronger as the screams grew louder, creating a chorus that even the most disturbed artist would find uncomfortable to bear witness to.

"Such selfless souls..." The caretaker whispered as the cries of pain began to die down slowly.

"Your siblings have been freed" the caretaker announced to the walls around him "and they will soon be there at your door... And they will not leave without your wrath in immortal chains..."

The entire room began to shake, but not from the rage of Dark...

"Welcome to freedom..." The caretaker looked strait into the blinding light that streamed out of the doors as they swung open.

"Bapti... The grey wolf of wisdom and loyalty... Master of water and ice... God of literature and language..."

"Fulmin... The common monkey of intelligence and understanding... Master of lightning and steel... Got of technology and puzzles..."

"Pyrosa... The Siberian tiger of bravery and justice... Master of fire and magma... God of truth and determination..."

"Soilz... The grizzly bear of strength and love... Master of earth and gemstone... God of combat and relationships..."

"Cyclol... The golden eagle of creativity and leadership... Master of air and all it contains... God of the arts... Including dance, song, painting, ECT..."

"Bien... The black tailed deer of joy and freedom... Master of plants and fungus... God of medicine and harmony..."

The caretaker narrowed his eyes "of course... Cyclol and Bien are no longer separate..."

"There is now Cybie... The scarlet macaw... Five warriors... Five gods... Five lies... Five truths..."

The caretaker backed into the shadows, melting away into the darkness.

"All of which will be revealed... Some sooner then others..."

"...And some should have stayed hidden"


	100. OMG 100TH CHAPTER AHHHHH

The first thing he noticed was the voices.

As the pain ebbed away, it revealed a voice.

Soft as silk, quiet, barely a whisper.

Pleasant to listen to...

But if it continued forever, like this voice said it would, it would become irritating.

But that he could handle.

The second thing he noticeed was the pounding of his own heart.

It deafened him, yet he still heard the voice.

He could hear everything else perfectly as well.

But for some reason, it hurt his ears. It hurt all of him.

It would die down to normal in due time.

But as of now, it was his own internal war drum.

He felt weak dispite his overwhelming sense of stregnth, like a newborn tadpole, fresh out of the wet warmth of its mother, and crying against the cold open air, trembling, wailing aloud, yearning for its mother to hold it close.

Thats exactly what it was like...

He wanted to fall to his knees, he wanted to lay down on the cold, cold floor.

But no... There was no time.

Weak legs tripped over each other as he stumbled away into darkness, the light of the test had left him vulnerable to darkness, unable to see.

Yet not so much for someone else.

He staggered as something red pushed by him, and the world before him began to light up with the smallest of flames.

He knew the red thing... He knew...

He knew them all...

He got in front of the red thing and continued to walk.

he could hear footsteps behind him. Four were following.

His four...

He wanted to cry, but no tears came.

"There is no time for reunions nor tears..."

He knew exactly where to go, the layout of hell clear in his mind.

"No room for mistakes..."

He approached a wall.

"No... Mistakes..."

Just like that, the wall suddenly started to move, something thrashing around from within.

A plant like substance suddenly began to ooze out from where the wall met the floor, and soon that wall caved in on itself.

He covered his eyes as the dust flew up, the rotting smell of rotting vegetable matter flooding the air.

"No time to complain..." He stepped over the crumbled wall.

He continued walking, his legs gaining some of their lost strength.

"Almost there... Almost..."

He soon realized that his heart was beating normally now... It was the constant pounding of actual drums that stimulated him.

He looked up and saw a large wall of black. Purple smoke drifted out from underneath it.

he walked up to it, his mind was still hazy yet his plans were clear as day.

"We've been enlightened... We now know the truth..."

For the first time he looked back. Four Keronians stood there, each of their eyes glowing a different color. Yet as he looked over, that glowing died down to reveal the eyes of friends.

no words were exchanged.

Not a single one.

They were now forever linked.

They all knew the truth...

And now it was time to reveal it.


	101. Undoing

So dark...

So cold...

So terrible...

He stood there quivering in the darkness, his fists clenched and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Why?"

he punched the nearest wall.

"WHY?!"

He clawed at his head "I did everything I could! They should have DIED!"

He whipped around to stare at the wall he had previously turned his back to "I don't understand... I DON'T GET IT!"

He roared at the sky, purple smoke bellowed off him and rolled up to the ceiling "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! I WON'T LET IT!"

He shuddered and looked down "no... It's not over... I'm still in control... They'll fail... I'll be their undoing!"

His eyes began to glow blood red "you're wrong Tururu... So very wrong... No one will ever leave here... NO ONE!"

He flicked his hand out toward the wall "let them in... Let them try! I am the most powerful creature in the universe! More powerful then my horrid mother!"

A smile full of horse teeth spread across his face as the wall began to split apart, revealing the five that had managed to work their way through every trap and test he had laid out in front if them.

"This time is different... This time you won't live... This time..."

He began to laugh.

"...I WILL FINALY BE VICTORIOUS!"


	102. The end?

Keroro watched as the wall split in half and pulled away, horrid laughter immediately poured out, making him flinch and cover his ears.

_"Do not be afraid..."_

Keroro gritted his teeth as Cybie whispered throughout his mind, unused to a second set of thoughts providing company to his own..

_"He feeds of your fear... Flourishes in it... Do not back away..."_

Keroro looked up into the darkness to see nothing but a thick purple fog.

_"focus..."_

Keroro removed his hands from his head, desperately wanting to look back at his friends. Yet he found his legs moving him forward.

He mentally sighed with relief as he heard everyone else following him.

"I can't belief this is actually happening..."

He narrowed his eyes, trying to make something out in the darkness and fog.

"We're in the heart of it all..."

He clenched his fists and stopped walking, his eyes narrowed.

"Where are you?"

The darkness swallowed up his voice, leaving nothing but a faint echo.

Keroro shuddered and walked further in.

"You know why we're here..." He gritted his teeth, forcing his voice to remain steady.

"Indeed I do..."

Keroro froze as a voice as cold as ice reached his ears. A faint memory came back to him, where he had stood upon the empty lot that used to have had a house on it. it seemed like it happened years ago when really, it had only been a few hours.

He looked up and froze at the sight of two glowing red eyes and a smile hovering above him. Fear surged throughout Keroro, but he forced it down.

"Your such a pest... All of you..." Dark sneered and gently floated down to face Keroro directly. He had no body, he was just solid darkness with a face "I should have killed you long ago..."

"I-I don't know if you would listen to me... But... You need to hear what I have to say... Calm your wrath just enough for my words to get through..."

Dark's eyes narrowed as Keroro countinued "I would like to believe that your just misunderstood... That's all... All you ever wanted was something that you couldn't get... Could that be true?..."

Dark scoffed "really now? You optimistic fool..."

"H-he's not just being optimistic..." Tamama came up to stand beside Keroro "you've done so many things that don't make sense..."

"Like starting a war" Giroro came to Keroro's other side "lashing out at your own siblings"

"not to mention the fact that there was no warning... No explanation..." Dororo spoke up.

"Kuku... Almost like there's something we missed..."

Dark growled "and why do you sound so certain?"

"When you locked your own family away, you gave them an opputunity to ponder and think... To eventually realize what really happened... And now they have passed that knowledge down to us..."

Keroro pointed at Dark "you were just a baby when Moki left you alone on that planet! Anyone that young would feel abandoned and afraid! The real reason you started a war was becuase you wanted to get revenge! Right? Get back at the one who you thought didn't love you anymore!"

Dark fell silent. The purple fog growing thicker and thicker with each passing second.

"she really just wanted to make you strong! You would have died if she continued to shelter you like she did! And she succeeded! You became the strongest of all of her children, yet you used that strength to create an army and attack innocents, all in hope of killing Moki herself!"

Keroro stopped for a breather "t-take a look around you... Is this really what you want? All of this to make your own mother suffer?"

Dark stared at him, his red eyes narrowing into small red slits.

"Do you think I care?"

Keroro stepped back as Dark continued "why should I care if people knew the truth? Is not like it would help... And besides..."

His eyes flew wide open.

"I love this... All of it... The screams, the pain, the fear... Ohhh the fear..." Dark smirked "that's the best part..."

Before Keroro could respond, Dark suddenly formed a clawed hand of shadows, within its frightening grip was a ball made of crystal glass.

"I know you mean well, and I hate that... You want to make me feel all goody goody gumdrops and shit like that... I know how you act and I know your secrets..."

The glass ball suddenly began reflecting various images, all of them showing five Keronians. Some as tadpoles, some as adults.

"I have children everywhere... Spies... They watched you grow up, giving me information... From the moment you were born I began to lay out my plans..."

Keroros eyes widened as he went on.

"You see? I'm in control... I call the shots... So don't come up to me acting like you know everything!"

Keroro backed away "no... We couldn't have failed... All of those people..."

Suddenly, the crystal ball exploded.

Everyone screamed except Dark, who only flinched away. The walls and floors began to quake, the fog lifting to show only darkness.

While everyone recovered from the shock, and stumbled around as the earthquake continued, Keroro stood still, his eyes locked on the hand that once held the ball.

"Oh..."

Dark hissed and began to float upwards "your nothing but fools! And in just a few minutes, you will be dead fools!"

"OH..."

The earthquake began to die down, leaving the ground cracked and broken yet still intact.

Dark blinked, then hissed again.

_"OH..." _

Keroro was absolutely stunned at what he had just realized. His mouth slack and his eyes wide.

"You're not in control..."

"WHAT?!" Dark screamed, clearly enraged by Keroro's almost non existent whisper.

His platoon stared at him with wide eyes as he stepped closer to Dark.

"I get it now... I understand..."

"Shut up!" Dark raised his shadow claw hand above his head, aiming to hit Keroro,

but before he could move, Keroro looked at him dead in the eye.

"You didn't break that orb..."

Dark froze.

"If you had broken it, you would have expected it to shatter like that... So why did you flinch away? Why were you surprised?"

Keroro narrowed his eyes "you're not completely in control... This happens a lot, doesn't it?"

"Something else is influencing the Void! Now that I realize that, I'm surprised no one else peiced this together!"

Keroro pointed at Dark again "the fact that the rift that had created the Void decided to appear right behind you?! That's not a coincidence! The Void wasn't made becuase of the Big Bang! Someone personially made it to SAVE you!"

Everyone, including Dark, looked absolutely shocked.

"Now, who has the ability to alter reality?! Who loves you more then anything, even after all the horrible things you've done?!"

"N...no..." Dark shrank away a bit "that... That can't be..."

"That's RIGHT! It's mother fucking MOKI!" Keroro practically scream "Moki has been partially in control this whole time! She willingly let you cause so much pain and suffering! She felt so horrible that she couldn't bare to show her face! Yet she loved you! She still does! After all this!"

The room began to quake once more, this time more violently. Keroro gasped and fell down, but refused to stop yelling.

"She protected you! She put you above everybody else! She didn't mean to cause you such pain! I'm sure of that!"

Keroro jumped up to only fall back down becuase if the earthquake.

"SHE LOVES YOU DAMNIT!"

just as he screamed that, there was a loud screech from above. Keroro looked up at Dark to see him thrashing around, his red eyes wide.

"No... No! Stop it! Stop it!"

He continued to wail aloud to no one in particular. His screams deafening everyone in the platoon.

"No more! No more! Shut up! Oh god! It burns! AAGGGH!"

A blast of purple light nearly blinded Keroro, it engulfed Dark, who screamed even louder.

"AGHHH... AGGHHH-H-H-HHHH!"

Keroro covered his ears, his screams like fingernails on a chalk board.

_"M...M...M...M..." _

Keroro blinked.

_"M...M...M-MOMMYYYYYYY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y!"_

Keroro never thought he would hear such a weird scream. Halfway through it, something changed. His voice turned from deep and cold to high pitched and almost child like.

"what the actual fu-"

he was cut off by the sound of a loud explosion, yet all he saw was purple light. A fierce wind hit him and his platoon head on, making them all scream and fly back a few feet.

Keroro hit the ground with a thud and rolled with the wind. Unable to stop himself.

He and everyone else finally came to rest a few feet away from the door they had just entered.

_"Well done..." _

Keroro weakly looked up as Cybie whispered his gratitude to him.

"Kukukuuu I hate to break up the party, but we're not done yet..."

Keroro whipped around to look at Kururu, everyone else did the same. Everyone looked suprised.

"We didn't even say anything..."

Keroro scrambled up into a standing position, his legs weak. He stumbled back into the darkness to see something small and glowing purple hovering in the air.

Keroro blinked and slowly walked over to it "D-Dark?"

The purple thing began to quiver, and it unfolded to reveal a small sprite like creature with a round head. It's purple body soon stopped glowing and it started shivering.

"Wh-where... Where am I?"

Keroro looked at it, it's tiny child like voice ringing through the silence.

The sprite looked at Keroro with light purple eyes.

"Wh... Where's my mommy?"

"This is Dark? The god of shadows and bringer of pain and dispar? This is what he really looked like before anger corrupted him? He's... kind of adorable..."

"Y-your mommy is pretty far away... But..." Keroro smiled and brought the sprite closer to himself "I can try to take you to her..."

Dark sniffled and buried himself into the crook of Keroro's arm "wh-why is it so cold? I don't like it here!"

"I don't like it ether... We were just about to leave..." Keroro looked back at his platoon.

They were just staring at him, their eyes wide.

"I'm cradling a god..." Keroro suddenly realized and looked back down at the tiny, trembling, and warm sprite he held "and its fucking adorable"

Tamama hesitantly came to his side "h-he's so cute!" Tamama took Dark from him and held him in his own arms.

Dark looked up at him "d-do you know how to get to my mommy?"

"Aw... No... But we'll find a way..." Tamama tickled his nose, making him sneeze like a puppy.

Keroros heart melted right there and then "oh... Wow..."

Dororo came over and peered at him over Tamamas shoulder "I don't think we should stay here..." He looked at Keroro.

"I agree. We need to get out of here" Giroro rubbed his hands together "uh... How do we do that?"

"Ku... It's simple... We-"

the sudden shaking of the room cut Kururu off, everyone gasped and fell to their knees. Tamama made a special effort to not crush Dark.

"I-is it breaking apart by itself?!" Dororo covered his head.

"Ku! No!" Kururu yelled over the cracking of wood and stone "something very different is happening!"

Just as he said that, a streak of white light suddenly appeared on a far wall. Making Keroro and everyone else gasp and shield their eyes.

Keroro peeked over the cover of his hands to see a white, glowing crack appearing on the wall, and spreading apart to create a giant glowing opening.

"Wh-what the..."

Tamama suddenly started squealing almost joyfully "m-mommy! Mommy!"

"What?!" Keroro looked back at Dark, who was squirming around in Tamamas arms.

"Th-there's no way that its really..."

Before he could finish that thought, he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He looked back at the large crack to see something white working its way through it.

"Wh... What..."

Out came a four foot tall Keronian like figure, its entire midsection covered by a dress that flowed all the way down to the floor. Silver hair topped its white head, and its eyes seemed to be reflecting every color imaginable all at once.

On her forehead, wrists and chest sat a golden six pointed star,

"That's Moki?! Why the heck does she look like a Keronian?!"

Just as he thought that, Kururu came to his side "ku... She has no real body... She alters the minds of those who see he so they see something they reconise..."

Keroro flinched away "wh-what the fuck?! Can he read minds now?!"

"Kukukuuu... Yes..."

Keroro stared at him "what?"

"M-Mommy!"

Keroro heard Tamama gasp as he saw something purple shot through the air and towards the magestical figure of Moki.

Dark barreled into her chest, clinging to it tightly "oh mommy! Where have you been?! It's so cold and scary in here!"

Moki's elegant hands reached up and gently touched Dark, holding him close.

"Forgive me..."

keroro never thought he would hear the voice of the creator of the universe.

It was soft, gentle... Defiantly female... Her colorful eyes closed as she spoke.

Dark sniffled, his tiny body shivering "yes... Mommy... I wanna go home!"

Moki nuzzled his small forehead "and to home we shall go..."

She looked at Keroro, her colorful eyes burning into his.

"Take good care... But..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Make a choice..."

Keroro blinked "wh...what?"

But just as he said that, Tamama gasped. He looked back at him to see that the tadpoles eyes were wide and full of suprise.

"T-Tamama?"

But before he could answer, there was another loud crack, and he heard Dark squeak.

"M-Mommy?"

Keroro looked back at Moki to see something was off. Her body now radiated a faint red aura, her eyes slitted almost in a anger manner.

With a flick of her silver hair, she turned and vanished back into the light.

"M-Mommy..."

Darks worried whisper was the only voice Keroro could hear over the crack that ran throughout the room, and in a flash, the light was gone.

The earthquake started up again, this time much stronger.

"Sh-she's withdrawn her control over the Void!" Kururu yelled "it's falling apart!"

"Th-then lets hurry it along!" Giroro jumped up.

"I agree!" Dororo gasped.

"Did only me and Tamama just see that?" Keroro thought as he wildly looked around.

Tamama glanced at him before looked at Kururu "H-How?!"

The earth shook even harder "kuku! Just focus on the void itself! The gods within us will do the rest!"

"How does he even know this?" Keroro squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus.

_"Let yourself relax..."_

Keroro let himself get lost in Cybie's voice.

_"Focus on the ground beneath you... The texture... The temperature... Everything..."_

it was cold, so very cold. Rough and unwelcoming...

_"That's it..."_

A bright light flashed before him, making him flinch away.

_"Do not fear it... It is part of you now..."_

Keroro lowered his head as he felt a pain grow within his chest.

_"This is the first time you're using a great scale of power... It will be uncomfortable..."_

The light grew stronger, and Keroro found himself panting as the pain grew stronger.

There was so much light, all of it practically soaking into the ground.

_"Your doing well... Just a little bit more..."_

Keroro gripped his chest "c-cant... Breath..."

_"Almost..."_

"Ngh... Agh..."

_"Relax..."_

Keroro found himself falling down and onto the floor.

_"So close..."_

The floor felt like it was on fire, the light coming from all directions and smothering Keroro so badly.

_"Done..."_

_..._

_"sleep..."_


	103. The truth awaits

Keroro opened his eyes to see nothing but darkness. His entire body, mostly his chest, ached horribly.

"Is... Is this the Void? Or are we home?"

meh sat up. There was nothing but darkness... Except that he could see himself and everyone else clearly.

They were laid out in a star formation, and they were waking up slowly, groaning and clutching their chests.

"no... This isn't home... But... But the Voids gone now... Right?"

He rubbed his head, pain flaring to life behind his eyes.

"What's going on?"

"S-sarge..."

He looked up to see Tamana stumbling towards him, his knees knocking together.

"Hey... Y-you shouldnt move if you..."

"No... L-listen..." He fell to his knees beside Keroro "a-something wrong... I..."

"Wh-what are you yapping about?" Giroro muttered.

Tamama shuddered "something... Something happened... I saw it... Sarge... She's... Angry..."

Keroro blinked "M-Moki?"

"Y-yea... But... More of a... Love angry..."

"Wh-what does that even mean?" Dororo sat up.

"I-I can't explain it... Soilz is telling me that she's feeling both loving and angry at the same time..."

"What would make her angry?"

Tamama weakly shrugged "I... I don't know..."

"I'm so sorry..."

Everyone froze at the sound of a high pitched voice.

They looked up to see a flash of purple and something that was also purple floating down toward them.

"Wh... Dark?" Keroro sputtered as the purple sprite flew down to eye level "I-I thought Moki..."

"Time moves slower for us..." Dark's eyes grew sad "I had enough time to learn what's going on and come back..."

"Where are we?"

"Your still in the void... But it has now changed..."

Dark looked around "all of the branches have been destroyed... Only the main one remains... Millions upon millions of tortured souls both dead and alive are going to ether heaven or back to your reality..."

"Th...that's great!" Keroro cried.

" b-but why are we still here?" Giroro sat up.

"...the main pocket is now a simple painless prison for evil people's spirits... After a few years in here, they get to go to heaven..." Dark continued as if Giroro hadn't spoken "soon, millions of evil spirits will flood through here, and they will begin their punishment... Many more will follow and occasionally, some will leave"

Dark looked at Giroro "but you're here becuase... My mommy forbids your return..."

"What?! Why?!"

"She's doing something..." Dark sniffed "she's worried you might try to stop it..."

"Ku... What is she doing?" Kururu stood up.

Dark looked down.

"Dark?" Keroro clenched his fists "what is Moki doing?"

"I... I can't tell you... Until I show you something... But..." Dark looked away "y-you get to chose not to... But you'll be stuck here forever until you accept..."

"What the actual heck? Dark! What's going on?!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Dark cried, shrinking away from Giroro "I can't do anything about it!"

"What are you going to show us?" Tamama stood up "what's so important?"

Dark shivered "You... You won't like it... At all..."

Keroro gritted his teeth "if you won't let us leave until we see it, then show us!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and to everyone's shock, Dark started to cry.

Suddenly, everything began to fade away for Keroro, leaving nothing but black no matter where he looked.

"I'm sorry..." Dark whispered.

"I'm so, so, very sorry!"


	104. The truth awaits no more

Dororo jerked awake. His eyes wide.

"Wh...what the..."

He was standing in a forest of pine trees.

"Wait... This... This was my test! Why... Why am I..."

"D-daddy... Please..."

The voice of a young boy startled him, and he looked over to see two Keronians walking by. One was a little boy while the other was an adult.

They paid no attention to Dororo as they walked by. Dororo tried to speak, but his body had frozen.

"What's going on?"

"D-daddy!" The boy repeated.

"I'm sorry, we can't..."

"B-but my feet..."

"Tough through it, we cannot stop..."

The little boy sniffed and pulled out a small heincercheif with a six pointed star on it.

"They're seers?" Dororo blinked as the boy blew into it.

His father tightly held his hand "we're almost there... And my power has almost restored. Soon you can just ride on my back, ok?"

"A-alright..." The boy whimpered.

Suddenly, the father froze and wrapped his arms around his son "DOWN!"

Dororo gasped as a gunshot sounded in the distance.

Blood sprayed as the bullet hit its mark, and the boy screamed as his fathers now bloody body crushed him.

The father gripped his shoulder and yelled, and Dororos eyes widened to see his teeth forming into sharp fangs.

The next minute, there was a bloody jaguar in his place, despite the bullet wound in its shoulder, it stood above the boy.

But even more bullets ripped through the air, and even more blood spattered the pine needles.

"Daddy! No!" The boy screamed as the jaguar swayed and fell onto the grass, turning back into a Keronian once more.

The boy wailed and buried his face into his fathers bloody skin, and something came for where the bullets had been shot.

Dororo felt like something had just stabbed him in the chest which a ice covered knife.

"No... No..."

Upon the shooters head was a helmet, and upon that was a symbol.

A military symbol.

The shooter was a Keronian, and it held a gun right at the boy.

"Target has been eliminated... He had a boy with him..." The shooter spoke into a walkie talkie "capture or execute?"

The boy started mumbling what sounded like gibberish, tears falling from his face as someone spoke back to the shooter though the walkie talkie.

"Execute em... We have enough kids back at the lab anyways"

"yessir..."

With a single bullet, the boy was laying beside his father. The blood that leaked out seemed to mirror the blood that Dororo had seen in the test.

"No... Oh god no..."

...

Kururu blinked open his eyes to find himself in a white room.

"Wait... Isn't this..."

Two Keronians dressed up in doctors outfits were peering behind a curtain, and soon, a nurse came out from behind it.

"She's almost ready..."

"I can't believe that she's not screaming yet..." One of the doctors muttered.

"She's crazy... I bet she can't even feel it..."

"I'm... In the birthing bay from my test!" Kururu tried to move, but was frozen to the spot.

"We can handle this... You can leave" one if the doctors said to the other.

"A-alright..."

As the doctor walked by Kururu, the other went behind the curtain "the priority is the child, don't worry about her"

"y-yes sir..."

The nurse whispered something else that Kururu couldn't make out before exclaiming "D-Doctor!"

"Get into your position! We can't lose this baby!"

There was a bit of shuffling around behind the curtain "get the vacuum! Now!"

There was a weird noise, and a drawn out sucking sound before stopping abruptly as a baby's crying was heard.

The nurse erupted out from behind the curtains with something in her arms.

She laid it on the table and started doing various things to it. The doctor stepped out and watched.

"It's a boy..."

"Good..."

The nurse suddenly froze "S-Sir... It's... Eyes..."

"What?" The doctor came over and looked at the baby.

"They're very... Poor..."

"No... That can't be! Seers have a perfect genetic code!"

"Th-there's no sign of power coming from it ether!"

"How the hell..." The doctor glanced at the curtains before glaring intensely at them "you... You little bitch!"

"Wh- what?"

"Look at her! She's smiling!"

"B-but she's crazy! She can't hear us!"

"She did this on purpose!"

He gritted his teeth and pulled out a gun.

"S-sir! Wait!"

Kururu flinched as the gun was shot.

The nurse covered her mouth "a-ah..."

"Little whore..." The doctor pointed the gun at the baby.

"W-wait!" The nurse held her hand out "it's just a baby!"

"It's useless!"

"Not really! It could prove useful!"

"Like?"

"Let's do a field test! If its from a Seer, it could act differently!"

"And how do you propose we do that?" The doctor lowered the gun.

"Send it to a lone adult... Someone close to our organization..."

"And watch it grow up?"

"Exactly"

the doctor snorted and put the gun away "fine... Get a hold of general Doshasha... That retired son of a bitch likes kids anyway..."

Kururu froze completely, memories of a staticky voice flooded through his mine "no... Nonononooo..."

"Yessir..."

The nurse hurried away, and in that instant, Kururu could move. He sprinted towards the baby, getting one good look at it before it all was over.

"No! NO!"

...

Giroro found himself standing in a lush forest, the smell of fresh bread shocking him.

"Wait... That smells like..."

He looked around to see a little tent, a camp fire burning in front of it.

A woman and what looked like her husband were taking something off it. The woman reached inside with a glove and pulled out a golden peice of bread.

"sweetheart!"

The moment the woman called out, a blond girl ran over "coming!" She squeaked.

"J-JUDY?!" Giroro gawked "but... She died!"

Judy hurried over to the woman, who handed her the bread.

"Feed this to the birdies... I bet they would like it"

"yes mom!" Judy kissed her forehead before running off.

Giroro felt his heart break in two "no... They're going to die! Don't show me this !"

BANG!

Giroro froze "a... A gunshot? Dark's servants used guns?!"

The woman and her husband jumped up, their eyes wide as several black things suddenly lunged out of the bushes around them.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Their screams were cut short as bullets went through them, their blood staining the tent and grass around them.

Giroro stared at the black things. They were all Keronian shaped, but their skin was almost metallic, and their eyes were covered with red goggles.

Giroro felt the ground sway beneath him "those... Those are standard assassin suits... Made for stealth..."

Upon the backs of all their heads, there was a symbol... A symbol that Giroro had been faced with all his life.

"That... That can't be... No!"

...

Tamama froze as he looked up to see a very reconiseable building.

He was in the lawn that had the anthill in it, but now he was much bigger.

"What... Why am I here?"

Suddenly, something caught his eye. Many Keronians dressed in military gear came charging at the front door, and to Tamama's dismay, kicked it down.

There was a scream and a gun shot, followed by many more.

"They have a baby!"

"Get it out now!"

The crying of a child was heard and someone leaped out with a bundle of blankets "check it!"

Someone else came up and peered into the blankets with some sort of weird device attached to his face.

"Normal!" He announced.

"Get the bodies! Light it up!"

Tamama's eyes widened as someone tossed two body bags out the door. The rest of the soldiers poured out as flames started to form in the highest window of the house.

"Get that baby to child services! Get the bodies to HQ!"

Someone pointed at himself "I got the media! The rest of you get back to HQ!"

"Yessir!"

As the flames devoured the house, everyone dove into a large van and drove away except the announcer, who hurried away to where a crowd had formed. Firetrucks soon arrived and firefighters rushed inside.

Tamama stared at it all, frozen to the spot.

"What... What... What..."

...

Keroro blinked as he found himself standing in what looked like a meeting room.

A long table sat in the middle, several high ranking military officers sat along it.

Keroro narrowed his eyes as he reconised Giroro's own brother, Garuru, among them "what the... What is this?"

"The terrorists are spreading like an illness... Along with their threats..." A general stood up and walked over to a chart on the wall, it showed a picture of Pekopon.

"We suspect that this, along with planet Viper, is one of their main bases... Discovered recently, and we have come to call it 'Pekopon...' We must be cautious, for we suspect many warheads are on this planet..."

"I suggest an undercover angent!" A captain suggested.

"Perhaps more then one..."

Garuru spoke up "the terrorists are smart... We need a team that will really fool them..."

"Are you suggesting people who are unaware?" The general blinked.

Keroro's eyes widened as Garuru went on "yes... Pherhaps... A fake invasion?"

"A fake invasion?"

"Yes... We could send a platoon in... If they are attacked by the Seers, we have full permission and the support of the public to destroy the planet..."

"There is life on that planet..."

"They don't matter..." Another general muttered "they don't even have interlactic travel..."

"And if we're wrong, we get the planets lush recourses..."

The general scratched his chin "yes... It does sound fitting..."

"We need to send a platoon no one will miss if they do die..."

"We also need to make the invasion sound convincing..."

"Send well preforming soldiers with a lousy leader... That way a mistake will occur and the seers will HAVE to step in if they want to save their planet"

"yes..." The general activated a hologram on the table and started clicking through several names.

"We have a very talented computer expert... Sgt major Kururu"

"never liked him..."

"No one ever did... No one would miss him..."

"Then to Pekopon he will go..." The general clicked on his name "hm... Here's a name I never noticed before... Lance corporal Zeroro..."

"Who?"

"I know him..." Garuru looked up "he grew up with my brother..."

"He's highly recommended by his mentor, captain Jirara, for war..."

A shiver went through the officers "s-send him... I don't want to piss of that monstrosity..."

"Here's a newbie... Highly skilled in martial arts and uses Chi powers..."

"Sounds convincing..."

"We also have a weapons specialist... Also recommended for war... Corporal Giroro..."

Everyone flashed a look at Garuru, who lowered his head and gritted his teeth.

After a moment of silence, he looked up "send him... The invasion must be convincing..."

The general nodded "very we'll then... And finally... Hm?"

The general frowned "what's this? There must have been an error in the paperwork here..."

"what's wrong?"

This guy... Sargent Keroro... He has a terrible record... Yet he's a Sargent..."

"Now... That's weird..."

"I know him as well" Garuru frowned "he was a very lazy and stupid kid..."

"We have no room for errors like this... We'll send him and just hope he dies... It's for the best..."

The hologram disappeared "alert the media, and contact this new platoon... And let's hope the ones that are actually soldiers survive this... If not, let's remember what ignorant sacrifices they were... Dismissed..."

Everyone but two generals stood up and walked out, Garuru was the last to leave.

One of the generals turned off a camera in the corner of the room "at least their still buying it..." He snickered "I can't believe how stupid they are..."

"We have no room for powerful creatures like Seers... They could overthrow us... It's better if they all just die"

"oh, I know... We could really use their powers for weapons of mass destruction..."

"We're working on that... But who doesn't love a little blood shed?"

Laughter filled the room, Keroro just stood there, wide eyed and dizzy.

"The invasion of Pekopon... A set up?"

"And us? _Sacrifices?_""


	105. Promise?

Dororo awoke with a start, and he immediately started to sob into his hands.

"I am so sorry..."

Dororo looked up from his already tear covered hands to see that Dark was still there.

"This is bullshit!"

Giroro's yell made him flinch, he looked at his friend to see his eyes burning with anger.

"There is no way that this is true! The military wouldn't kill an innocent family like that!"

"Is that what he saw?" Dororo covered his eyes again "oh lord..."

Tamama jumped up, tears streaming down his face "your lying! you have to be!"

"T-Tamama... Giroro..." Everyone stopped and looked at Keroro as his horse whisper barely made it to their ears.

"He-e isnt lying..."

"H-how would you know?!" Giroro snapped.

Keroro looked up, years streaming down his face "I... I saw them... They..." He covered his eyes "it's all a set up..."

"what?"

"The invasion, our platoon... Everything... It's all fake..."

Dororo froze "wh-what?"

"We... We were never ment to invade Pekopon..." Keroro sniffed "they sent us to be sacrifices..."

Silence fell upon them. Giroro was the first to break it.

"WHAT?!"

Keroro flinched "they wanted us to goof around... They wanted us to put the planet in danger... They think Pekopon is where the Seers live... They wanted to lure them out..." He let out a sob "we were meant to die..."

Giroro let out a laugh of hysteria "your wrong!" He grabbed Keroro's skin like a shirt.

"G...Garuru..." Keroro hesitated.

"What?! What about my brother?!"

"He... He... Was in on it..."

Giroros eyes went wild with rage, and he drew his hand back to punch Keroro right in the face.

Dororo and Tamama both simultaneously ran over, aiming to stop him, but for some reason, Kururu was faster.

In a flash, Giroro's raised hand was in Kururu's iron grip.

Giroro looked at the hacker "l-let me go!"

"He's not lying..." Kururu's oddly weak voice made Giroro freeze "it's true... All of it..."

Tamama and Dororo exchanged a look.

"G-Giroro... I'm so sorry..."

Giroro ignored Keroro and released him "I don't believe it..."

"I have a fucking god of intelligence in my head, I know for a fact that this is the damn truth..."

Kururu seemed angry, his glasses flashing as he looked up at Dark.

"What is Moki doing?"

Dark looked down "S-Seers have been suffering... She wants to stop it... All of it..."

"Why now of all times?"

"You gave my mommy back her confidence... And you gave every Seer out there hope... She's going... She's going to start the revolution..."

Dororo froze as he reconised the word from the diary "r-revolution?"

"Y-yes..."

Datk looked back at them.

"All of the Seers who have been unjustly murdered by the military shall... Rise..."

everyone froze "wh-what?"

"my mommy... She's opening the gate that separates the dead from the living... The spirits of those who have been unjustly killed will be let through... And they will be givin enough energy to posses whatever is left of their bodies..."

"w-wait... SHE'S STARTING A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE?!" Keroro screamed.

"O-only on Keron since they have the most blood on their hands..."

"Th-there are innocents there to!"

"Which is why only those who have intentionally killed a Seer for nothing but greedy purposes shall be hunted down... There is no real infection, so everyone else would be safe..."

Tamama whimpered and looked down "oh... God..."

Giroro glared up at Dark "s-send us back!"

"Y-you have to promise not to interfere..."

"could we warn the innocents? They could hurt themselves" Dororo looked at Dark.

"M-mommy says its ok..."

"And our families?"

"Only if their innocent..."

Giroro growled "don't you dare question out families!"

Keroro stood up "w-w... we understand... P-please... send us back..."

Dark gave Giroro a pityful look and looked down "o-okay..."

He closed his bright purple eyes and clasped his little stubs that he now for hands together.

"Brace yourself..."

And just like that, the ground vanished beneath their feet.


	106. Our home in flames

Dororo gasped as heat met him from all sides along with natural light, he had gotten so used to the cold, stinky air of the Void that fresh, natural air made him light headed.

"O-oh my..." Dororo sputtered and clutched his chest. There was also a lot of moisture in the air as well.

"Th... This is more humid then Pekopon... We... We're on Keron!"

Dororo opened his eyes against the sunlight, gritting his teeth for the sensation of the natural heat of summer seemed to be cooking him alive. His frozen fingers and limbs that he had gotten so used to were now thawing out.

"W-what a feeling!"

He looked at the world around him, he was in a small valley of short grass, his friends scattered around him.

"I... I remember this place... it is right next to..."

On weak legs, he scurried up the side of a steep hill, gasping as he finally reached the top and managed to peek over.

"o-our old neighbor hood..."

The houses of the rich in the far right, middle class in the rest of the area. The streets were abandoned, doors and windows had been nailed shut from both the outside and the inside.

"Oh my..." Dororo eyed a tiny splatter of blood on the street he was closest to "it's already begun, hasn't it?"

He heard the rest of his platoon clamoring up the hill after him.

"Th-the whole town is deserted..." Keroro muttered.

"L-look!"

Tamama's gasp made Dororo look over to see the tadpole pointing at the big city in the distance, smoke bellowing out if the windows of a distant building.

"Wh-when do zombies start fires?!" Keroro gasped.

"That's not the zombies... That's the citizens!" Giroro growled "they did this before during one of our many world wars..."

"They set buildings on fire?!"

"Ku... No..." Kururu frowned "their knocking it over..."

There was suddenly a loud boom, and even more smoke poured out into the sky.

Dororo's eyes widened as he saw the building teeter and begin to fall, it hit the ground with a mighty crash that even shook the ground that they were standing on, which was about more then a half a mike away.

"Why would they do that?!"

"It's a military tactic..." Giroro stood up "four tall buildings sorounding the city, push them over in the right direction and you have an instant wall..."

"such a strategy exists?!" Dororo gasped.

"It's a last resort" Giroro looked at his own neighborhood "this whole place is deserted... They must have sealed off their houses and escaped into the city via sewage pipes..."

"That's a possibility..."

"B-but where are th..."

Tamama stopped dead as something suddenly shifted around by a alleyway. Dororo covered his mouth as a reanimated corpse stumbled out and into view. It's mandable completely ripped apart and several gunshot wounds had been inflicted onto the back of its head.

"execution style..." Kururu growled.

Now that he was looking, he could see more of them. Slight movements that he didn't notice before.

"Are... They hiding?"

"Doesn't look like it..." Giroro nodded at the zombie that had just stumbled out into view "they might be focusing on other things..."

"Like?"

"Breaking down doors?"

"B-but there's no noise that would indicate that..." Dororo looked up at Giroro.

"If there's no one to hunt, then why are they still here?"

"I-I don't..."

"MOMMY!"

The squeal of what sounded like a little child made everyone freeze.

"A child?! Here?!"

A dark red tadpole suddenly burst out of some nearby bushes and raced over to the walking zombie that had caught everyone's attention.

To Dororo's horror, the little child wrapped her arms around it. The squishing of rotting flesh made him gag as the child clung to the frightening thing.

"Why isn't she afraid? Is that really her mother? I can't even tell what gender it is..."

The zombie hunched over, running a rotting hand over the tadpoles hat, it made no noise yet it seemed like it was greeting the little girl.

The girl started to sob into her presumes mother's rotting flesh "y-you came back! You really did!"

She sniffled, then stiffened. She instantly looked up where Dororo and the others sat watching.

She started bawling, her tears hitting the ground with loud splashes, yet a large smile was on her face.

"Thank you!" She wailed before grasping her dead mother's hand and hugging her one final time before she raced way, her entire body now soaked in blood.

The zombie stared after her until she vanished into the distance. Then nodded at them and stumbled away.

"Wh-what the heck was that?" Tamama squeaked.

"Th-that was ether a miracle or a hallucination..." Keroro muttered.

"Ku... She's a Seer... Both of them were..." Kururu narrowed his eyes "it seems that Seers can identify each other by just examining their spirit..."

"W-well we sure as hell can't do that..."

"Pherhaps the ability will come to us in due time..." Dororo jumped up and started for the streets.

"Whoa whoa, where are you going?" Giroro jumped up as well.

"To see my mother and father..." Dororo's eyes flashed with concern "m-my mother tends to feint... A lot..."

"Eh? I thought she was an assassin..."

"My father says she once got in an accident... Hence her leaving the assassin squad and becoming tarumatized..."

"So it runs in the family?"

"What?"

"You had a tragic accident, and now your tarumatized and no longer a part of a group of killers..."

"Ah... That is very similar to my mother's story... Maybe it does..."

He shook his head "but she must be a mess... If she's still inside our house then she must be terribly frightened..."

"Then go get her to safety" Giroro looked back at the burning buildings.

"Thank you..." Dororo bounded away, vanishing behind a large house.

"You think his mom is ok?"

"No idea..." Keroro looked at Tamama.

"I really hope she is..."


	107. Mansion

Dororo hurried along the streets, seeing more and more zombies as he went.

"Most of them bare the six pointed star on them... Mostly tattooed on... It's all true isn't it? Is the military really a corrupt, greedy organization?"

He picked up speed "my father works deep within the ranks... They may mistake him for an enemy... Oh dear lord..."

He eventually came to his old house. It was large as ever, towering way above his head as he reacted the door and tried to open it.

To his horror, it swung open with ease.

Dororo hesitated before looking into the oddly dark house "m-mother? Father?"

As nothing but silence met his greeting, he stepped inside.

A sharp, irony scent struck his nose, making him freeze.

"What is this?" He sniffed the air, an almost visual map that led to its source appearing into his head.

"Is this Bapti's work? He is a canine after all..." Dororo followed the trail, sniffing intensely.

"It smells... Like blood... Oh god no..."

He ran his way through the mansion he once called home.

"Mother! Father!"

The smell became so overpowering that it made his eyes water, at last he found the end. It led right into the mammoth sized basement that he once dreaded as a child. The darkness that consumed it, the faint lightbulb from above that casted eerie shadows upon everything. But compared to the Void, this old fear was nothing but a walk in the park.

He threw the door open and raced down the stairs "mother! Fa-"

he voice stopped dead as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

The lightbulb from above glowed dully as ever, casting light on a blue and red heap in the middle of the floor.

Dororo crept forward, his heart pounding.

The blue was a body, the red was the blood.

Dororo stared down in horror at the body of his father, eyes wide and glazed over, no spark of life present behind that glassy look. His mouth was open slightly, as if he had tried to speak in his final moment.

Dororo fell to his knees, speechless and shocked beyond belief.

"F... Father..."

He winced as he saw the cause of death. A bloody stab wound resided on his chest. He had a fairly quick death, yet it must have hurt.

Dororo wanted to cry, but no tears came. He stayed on his knees and stared at his father's dead face.

_"Dororo..."_

Dororo winced as Bapti's soft and quiet voice echoed throughout his mind.

_"something else is here..."_

Dororo blinked and looked up, his eye catching a small table against the far wall.

"What..." He stood up as he saw something pink on it.

"No... No way..."

He hurried past his father and stopped by the table, his eyes widened to see a pink and blue book laying there.

"The dairy?! But... But this was in the Void! How..."

He picked it up and flipped through it, his heart skipping a beat as he stopped flipping through the pages to see one that he had never read before.

_"I want him dead..._

_Not just this man... But my son..._

_MY son... Not his..._

_he needs to die... He needs to go to the afterlife..._

_there he would be safe... There he would know the truth..._

_He will be happy..."_

Dororo shuddered and turned the page.

_"It's all wrong... All of it! It's been years since I last wrote in this book..._

_my boys have grown up nicely... My oldest son, once weak and sickly, now a killer... My youngest left us a long time ago... He just came back... He refuses to take over his fathers wealth..._

_He's angry..._

_He sent my youngest to his death..._

_tricked him... Killed him..._

_All while sitting behind a desk..._

_The one I waned to live died and the one I wanted to die lived..._

Dororo stared in horror at the page "what kind if sicko would kill his own son?!"

Dororo blinked and froze at the next page "w-wait... The date... Is today?"

_Today, I am finally getting old..._

_I see a single wrinkle upon my face..._

_40 years has done nothing to my body... Nothing..._

_That is my gift..._

_I look outside and my heart swells..._

_I see the stars that I have been deprived of for years._

_Those beauties..._

_I took you down here..._

_I write in you now, I hear him coming..._

_I will write your final page with his blood..._

_If its not him, and only a neighbor..._

_Then he will do..._

_The greedy crowd me... But today I push away..._

_The revolution has come... I am free..._

_No more... No more..._

Dororo blinked as he felt something wet on his fingers. He looked at the book to see blood leaking off the final page.

Dororo flipped to it.

_"THE REVOLUTION HAS COME!"_

Dororo stared at the bloody words with wide eyes, the same scent that wafted off his father arose from the blood.

"She wrote this with my fathers blood... Is it possible that I knew this woman?"

Dororo shuddered "oh god... She killed my own father in place of her tormentor... But why did she come into my house?"

Suddenly, he heard a creak from upstairs, his eyes widening as he recognized the sound of the creaky floorboard that he once dreaded as much as the basement.

"She's still in here? But..."

Dororo froze "wait... Is she... Oh no..." Dororo leaped over his father and raced up the stairs "M-MOTHER!"

He charged up the stairs that led to his parents bedroom, he could hear things moving around from within.

"Don't hurt her! Please don't hurt her!" He grabbed the doorknob and yanked on it, gritting his teeth as it refused to turn.

"Open dammit! OPEN!"

He yelled and threw himself at the door with a unknown strength "MOTTHHHER!"

The door splintered and flew off its hinges. Dororo stumbled in and froze to see his mother standing before him.

Her eyes were wide, and her dress was... Bloody...

"M-mother!" Dororo gasped and raced over to her "am I to late?"

He checked over her, no wounds could be seen "is this her attackers blood? I smell a bit of father in here..."

Dororo hugged her tightly "oh mother... I was so worried..." He looked at her "m... Mother?"

She looked dazed and confused, her eyes wide and her body shaking "Z...Zeroro... Why... Why are you here?"

Dororo clasped her hands within his own "I-I'm here to get you to safety!"

She slowly blinked "safety?"

"Yes... Mother..." Dororo shuddered "f-fathers... Dead..."

I... I know..."

Dororo winced "did she stumble upon his body?"

"Do you know where the killer went?"

"The... Killer?"

"Yes... mother? Are you ok?" Dororo looked around "we need to get out of here..."

"You... You should have stayed away..."

"I don't care if I've put myself in danger... I'm getting you out..." Dororo reached over to grab her arm as he saw that she was too tarumatized to move on her own.

"C-come on... Lets-"

"you should... Have really... Stayed away..."

Dororo froze as he felt something prick him in the back "wha- mother?"

He tried to turn and look at her, but not before whatever was poking him could go even farther.

In an instant, he could see the sleek blade of a kitchen knife.

He couldn't even scream as it was thrust into his back and out of his chest, then withdrawn just as quickly, leaving a wound parallel to his father's.

for a moment, Dororo just stood there, clutching his chest, then eventually started to wobble back and forth. He heard a splash as he hit the ground with a thud, a wail taking its sweet time to escape his lips.

he could feel the warm blood pooling around his body, and it felt like a raging fire had consumed his wound.

He was in pain, sure, but all he could do but let out a feeble wail was look up at his mother.

The knife was in her hand, dripping with blood... His blood... She looked like a wild animal, yet that crazy look within her eye suddenly relaxed.

She quickly knelt down beside him, staring into his panic striken eyes.

"Don't cry..."

Dororo hadn't even realized that he had been crying. But he couldn't wipe away his own tears. He felt blood pool up in the back of his throat and started coughing it up.

"M...mo...ther..." He gasped and tried to reach out to her, and she did indeed take it, but did nothing.

"It's... For the best..." Dororo's eyes widened as she started to speak softly to him, her gentle voice reminding him of a very certian lullaby.

"You'll understand... You will..." His mother rested her head upon Dororo's, who had begun to relax.

"I'm... I'm dying! Again!" Dororo grabbed at the floor, trying to crawl away, yet his world had already begun to fade away, his lightheaded mess and pain fading away as well.

He managed to look back up at his mother to see her smiling, not the smile of a insane person, it was the proud smile of a mother.

"M-mother..." He managed to choke out as it all began to turn white.

"Why?"

...

"Becuase I love you..."


	108. Mother's love

The moment after Dororo had left, Kururu turned and started into the town as well.

"Hey... Where are you going? Do you have family here?"

Kururu didn't give a direct answer. He just slightly nodded and continued walking.

"I didn't know he lived here..." Keroro muttered.

"Me neither..." Giroro frowned "but... Something going on with him..."

"What?"

"Well... First of all... He doesn't seemed worried in the slightest..."

"More... Angry... Then worried..." Tamama muttered.

...

Kururu made his way through the streets, looking down at the ground.

_"Calm yourself..."_

"Shut up you stupid monkey..." Kururu thought back.

_"Violence won't assist you..."_

"I want it to..."

_"Many want infinite energy, but that's not possible..."_

"They're not gods..."

_"You're_ _not a god... Neither am I... I am simply the spirit of a powerful being..."_

"just leave me alone..."

_"You know I can't..."_

Kururu stopped walking so he could lean against the wall of a house.

"Just cover your voice up with static... It's better then hearing you lecture me..."

_"I am telling you the truth, not lecturing you..."_

"Just do it already..."

There was a brief sigh, and Kururu winced as a harsh white noise started up in his head.

He continued walking, his hands shaking from his anger alone.

He made his way into the rich neighborhood, his eyes set upon a house with several zombies clawing at the door.

they all froze and backed away as Kururu approached. Then they turned and hurried along, leaving Kururu alone with the nailed shut door.

"He's to stubborn to leave..."

Kururu narrowed his eyes at the nails holding up the boards that barricaded the door closed, and suddenly, they popped out.

They fell to the ground, closely followed by the boards. Kururu grabbed the door and creaked it open a bit.

The loading of a shotgun met his ears.

"Ku... It's me..."

"You jackass... They'll get in..."

"I chased them off for good..."

The wielder of the gun growled, and Kururu pushed his way into the pricy looking house.

"Your siblings aren't here..."

It took Kururu all of his willpower to not growl "likewise... Dad..."

"I'm not your father you idiot..."

"Oh, that's right, they forced me upon you... Kukukuu"

The brown Keronian that wielded the shotgun gritted his teeth "I willingly took you in"

"and you lied to my damn face"

"I told you what you needed to know..."

"All of which was a lie..."

"it was the truth dammit... Why can't you just accept that?"

Kururu couldn't fight back his growling anymore. It arose like a flame from the back of his throat.

"I know..."

"Know what?"

"Everything..."

"Oh stop being such a bragger..."

"I know what happened... I know what I am..."

The brown Keronian narrowed his eyes "you need to stop obsessing..."

"She died of a single gunshot wound to the head"

the brown Keronian stiffened ever so slightly.

"But not before she gave birth... The baby was declared useless and tossed out for some pointless field work a nurse used as an excuse to save it..."

"what are you babbling about?"

"They said they were going to send it to general Doshasha..."

The brown Keronian growled "I don't know who told you such nonsense... There is no way that would of happened..."

"Not in a normal hospital... But it would, in a hospital ment for tortured Seers..."

...

"What?"

"I know what I am, I know what you are, and I know why the walking dead were at your door..."

"Your insane... I always knew you had problems..."

Kururu clenched his fists "is that what you really think? You said long ago that I was special... Never did I realize that you wern't talking just about my high IQ..."

"I can't believe you would fall for such stupid lies!"

"You're the lier!"

"I fucking gave you everything and this is how you repay me?! By accusing me of knowing about this bullshit?!"

"It's not bullshit 'DAD!'" Kururu practically yelled "and you know it! Your not fooling me anymore!"

"You're hopeless!"

"You're evil! They wern't even my real brother and sister, were they?! Where they experiments as well?! Did they lose their mother to a gun as well?!"

"You don't know what your talking about!"

"I fucking saw it with my own damn eyes! I saw the baby! I saw its poor eyes, its baby blue skin, and I saw exactly what I saw 20 years ago!"

They both stopped for a breather, Kururu stared down the barrel of the shotgun, his glasses flashing "and the worst part..." He gasped "was the fact that you knew... Every... Single... Detail..."

The brown Keronian glared at him along the barrel of the shotgun "if you think that you know everything... Then why don't you leave?"

Kururu couldn't help but smirk "I just... Wanted to let you know... Why I'm letting them hunt you down... And take the revenge they so rightfully deserve..."

He turned away from the brown Keronian "and... That I'm... Finally... Free... For real... Free from the lies... The pain of not knowing... Everything..."

He didn't look back as he began to walk back out of the house.

"Kukukuuu... And... And I know that she actually cared... She risked everything for me... She bargained her sanity... And her life..."

Kururu stopped walking for a bit and for the first time in his life, a real smile spread across his face. Not a mocking smirk, or a wild smile of insanity... It was an actual, real, quality smile.

"She loved me... Love... What an odd word... I had never felt it until I saw that scene play out in front of me... You say you gave me everything... That's not true... You didn't give me the comfort I needed to become kind and caring... Nor the support I got when I began my journey into the military..."

He chuckled "you never wanted me, but they paid you so you went along with it... you probably flourished in the fact that I was going to be a 'sacrifice...' I hate to disappoint you daddy... But..."

He glanced back ever so slightly.

"I actually give a shit now..."

he continued to walk out, but a snarl from behind made his step falter a bit.

"You damn terrorist...!"

**_BLAM!_**


	109. Forbidden cellar

Giroro narrowed his eyes as Kururu vanished from sight.

"That reminds me... Dad..."

He looked at Keroro and Tamama "I need to depart as well..."

"Uh... Wouldn't your dad be smart enough to run?"

"I... I need to check on something..." Giroro started to hurry away.

"Uh... Alright!" Keroro called after him.

Giroro rushed through the streets, stopping as he noticed a small door with a star upon it.

Giroro looked at his old childhood secret base. It was old and worn, the door barely on its hinges.

"so long ago... I was innocent..." Giroro gritted his teeth and started to sprint toward his father's house.

"Now I've been told things... I can't figure out what's the lie and what's not..."

_"The evidence is against the military"_ Pyrosa's voice whispered _"think about it..."_

"If I'm to believe that Garuru, my own brother, would willingly send me to my death, then I need to see this 'evidence' first hand! Not through a non trustworthy flashback!"

_"If you wish... But I do not advise it..."_

"It's my choice!"

_"Of course..."_

Giroro leaped over a broken mailbox "such destruction... From panic alone... Jesus Christ..."

He was panting by the time he reached his old house. He reached for the door, but blinked as he saw that it was cracked open ever so slightly.

"He wouldn't leave it open like this... In fact..."

He looked around "every other house has been boarded up... Why is there not a single barricade on his?"

He poked his head inside, the strong scent of his father hitting him hard, bringing back memories and a bit of confusion.

"Why the hell does this room smell so strongly?" He held his nose and stepped inside.

_"You now have the ability of tracking... Not as strong as the wolf, but it is pretty close..."_

"Thanks..." Giroro muttered aloud and continued further into the house.

He blinked as he removed his hand to smell something else underneath the scent of his dad.

"This... This seems... Familiar..."

he frowned as his fathers incredibly strong scent completely drowned out the newcomers "damnit... Who was here?"

He crept along the halls of the house, glancing into his old childhood room as he passed it.

"Strange... I don't smell myself... I guess it's faded away..."

He stiffened as he heard a dull thud. He looked around "what was that? Did it come from... Below?"

He snuck over to a hatch in the hallway floor. He remembered his father telling him to never go in there... Even as an adult...

"Why would he be so protective of a cellar anyway?" The 20 year old question popped back into his head.

He pushed that thought aside and slowly lifted the hatch quietly.

He blinked as he began to hear muffled voices from down below... Mostly from one person, and that person sounded angry.

Giroro narrowed his eyes and gripped the ladder that led down into the stone basement. He eased himself down, the voices gradually getting a clearer and louder.

Giroro found himself getting inpatient and silently dropped down to the bottom, landing silently like a cat.

And what he saw next startled and confused him greatly.

there, right beneath a hanging lightbulb, where two Keronians. One with a gun, another on the floor.

There was no wound on the one that now propped himself up on his elbows, he just looked dazed.

The one with the gun was yelling, or he was. The moment Giroro landed, the one on the ground looked over instantly and froze like ice. The one with the gun stopped yelling and looked back at Giroro.

Giroro stood there, staring at what he could only describe as the most confusing scene ever.

"Wh-what are you doing?" He finally whispered, his hands shaking.

The wielder of the gun narrowed his eyes and turned back to the one on the floor.

"You wouldn't understand, Giroro"

"G-Garuru..." Their father spoke up from the floor.

"Shut up!" Garuru snarled and began to re aim the gun at him.

"Wh-what the hell?!" Giroro dashed over and knocked the gun to the side "are you crazy?!"

Garuru shoved him away, making him fall to the ground as well "back off! This is far beyond your understanding!"

Giroro jumped up and grabbed at the gun "your threatening dad! That's all I need to know!"

Garuru shoved him back once again "I know things you don't even dream of!"

"Like what!?" Giroro bared his teeth at Garuru.

"He's a terrorist!"

Giroro blinked rapidly "wh-what? Why in the world would you think that dad would be a terrorist?!"

"Look at what he's holding!"

Giroro looked over at his father and froze as he saw something tucked up against the inside of his arm. It was a very large book with a leather cover.

and on that cover, a six pointed star had been stitched on with silver thread.

Giroro gawked at the book "what? WHAT? But... Why would he have THAT?!"

"You don't know what it is..." Garuru continued, oblivious to Giroro's shock "but I do! It proves he's part of a highly organized group of killers!"

Giroro tore his gaze away from the book and looked back at Garuru "what?! The Seer's aren't killers... But... Why would dad have a book with their symbol on it?" He thought.

"G-Garuru! No!" Giroro grabbed his brothers arm once again "you have it all wrong!"

"You haven't seen the havoc these people have wreaked!" Garuru kicked Giroro in the chest, making him gasp and fall.

"G-Giroro!" His dad gasped "just stop! Stay down!"

Giroro, highly confused, looked at his father, he looked sad and distressed, but all of his attention was on him now, not Garuru.

"Does he not care about the damn gun pointing at him?!"

Giroro was suddenly brought back to what Keroro had said. He shook his head "no... No this is a misunderstanding! My brother isn't a killer!"

Giroro huffed and stood up, thrusting himself in between Garuru and his father.

"Don't you dare hurt him!"

"He's EVIL!"

"You don't know that!"

"G-Giroro! No! Get out of the way!" His dad cried, sounding desperate "don't get yourself hurt over me!"

Giroro ignored his father and held his ground "you have no evidence besides an old book... Did you even let him explain why he had it?!"

"I don't need his flimsy excuses! I already know the truth!"

"NO YOU DON'T!"

Giroro lashed out to slap the gun out of Garuru's hand, yet Garuru's finger was quicker.

Giroro jerked as a searing pain engulfed his chest, his hands instinctively reaching inward to grab at the wound. He slowly looked down and saw the red that was slathered over his fingers.

"Garuru... Shot me..."

He could hear his father's yelling, yet it seemed slowed down. He soon saw the ground rushing toward him, and heard the splat as blood smacked concrete.

He could feel hands grabbing as his back, but he could see something purple lashing out and the hands instantly vanished.

The wail of his father's grief was droned out by Garuru's yell of fury. He could hear his own ears ringing as the grey walls around him began to turn white.

"Am... I... Dying?"

He tried to stand, but failed. Giroro could feel the blood pulsing out from underneath him, turning what was left of his world red.

He felt tears come to his eyes "Garuru..."

he felt himself begin to slip away, the pain ebbing away into a dull ache, then nothing at all. All of the sounds he heard left his ears completely, and his eyes began to close even though the white he now saw never changed a bit.

"Why?"


	110. Beloved son

"Well... I guess it's just you and me..."

Tamama looked up at Keroro, who was staring at the smoking ring of buildings that now surrounded the city. They had fallen like dominos right after the first one had fallen.

"They're isolated..." Keroro looked into his old neighborhood.

"Yea... If only they knew..." Tamama leaned against Keroro.

Keroro rested his chin on Tamama's head, his eyes closing.

Worry suddenly pricked at his mind, he looked back into the streets that he had once walked as a child.

"If you wanna go, then go..."

Keroro blinked at Tamama's reussuring tone and glanced down at him "you sure?"

"Yea... I can warn the city by myself... And all of the sorounding cities..."

Keroro withdrew his chin and looked at him in the eye "I couldn't just let you do all of the work..."

"I think your parents are more important..." Tamana hugged him "if they aren't there, then they are in the city... Which means we'll probably stumble across each other..."

"Th-that is true..."

Tamama smiled and pulled away from the hug, then started to jog away and to the rising smoke and chaos that engulfed the city.

He gave one final glance over his shoulder at Keroro, winked, then turned back to the path he was running down.

Keroro watched until Tamama was just a black speck in the distance, then turned and ran into the neighborhood.

He didn't stop for anything as he reached his parents door. Breathless and sweaty, he tried the door.

Keroro blinked as it swung open easily.

"Wh...what? Mom? Dad?" He called inside.

He stepped into the dark house, the TV in the corner closest to the door was staticky and playing the news.

Keroro looked at the fuzzy screen, and blinked as he saw a news reported with a microphone amongst a large crowd of people, all of which were huddling close together and ether weeping or silent with looks of shock on their faces.

"It's been over 3 hours now, and the hoard of zombies is still being presistant! The military has managed to hold them off with their firearms and the freshly created walls of the toppled buildings! Only a few military officers have fallen victim, but we have gotten news that they are indeed trying to climb the walls!"

Keroro gritted his teeth "that's becuase your housing murderers within your little fortress..."

All the sadness and sense of disbelief had long left Keroro and had been replaced with anger and betrayal.

"How could they? And what was it even for? To prove their superiority?"

Keroro continued deeper into the house "mom? Dad?" He called again.

He shuddered as nothing replied to him "they must have left... They had to have le-"

he was cut off by a sudden flash of green that nearly collided with him. He screamed and fell back, looking up to see what had nearly crashed into him.

"D...dad?"

Keroro's dad stood in front of him, wide eyed and nearly as frightened as Keroro himself. At first he looked overjoyed to see Keroro, but his gaze suddenly turned to terror, then anger.

"Y-you..."

"Wh-why are you..."

"LEAVE!"

He suddenly stormed off, deep into the dark house and leaving Keroro on the floor, his confusion keeping him good company.

"What... What the heck just happened? Why hasn't he left yet?!"

Keroro jumped up and ran after him "d-dad!"

"Stay away from us, you swine!"

Keroro flinched as his dad's voice came from the darkness.

"W...wait... Us?"

He found himself in the den, two figures standing at the window. They were gripping each others hands tightly and looking out the window. One was Keroro's father, and the other was his mom.

M-mom?! You too?! I thought you would have run away! Why are you still here?!"

He flinched away as his father turned to glare at him "I told you to leave!"

"Dad! Whats gotten you so worked up?!"

"don't you dare call him that!"

Keroro froze as his mother whipped around to glare at him, even more enraged then his dad.

"Wh-why... Does this feel so familiar?"

"Get out! Your not our son!" His mom hollered, reaching for something behind the drapes that partially covered the window.

"Wha... Mom! Don't be-"

"do you take us as fools?!" His dad growled.

"fools? Dad its me! Keroro! Don't you reconise me?!"

His mother stepped in front of his dad "get out! Right now!"

"M-mom..."

"IM NOT YOUR MOTHER!"

Keroro took a step back as his mother hauled a massive hammer out from behind the drapes.

It was huge, its head almost as big as his mothers body, yet she lifted it with ease and got ready to swing it at him "get out or I will kill you!"

Keroro shrank away "m-mom?! What are you doing?!"

"W-wait! Darling!"

His mother stopped and looked back at her husband "what?!"

"He's working with them! He might know where he is!"

Keroro stared at his father "dad, what are you..."

"Don't you call me your father!" He lashed out and snatched up something that lay on the ground a few feet away from him. Keroro flinched to see that it was a spear, its sharp edge jagged and painful to even look at.

"You heard him! You know where out son is!" His mom raised the hammer up again "tell us!"

"Wha- IM YOUR SON!"

"NO YOU ARE NOT!"

"Have they gone insane?" Keroro thought and started to back away "oh god..."

"Have you killed him?!" His father snarled and jabbed the spear at him, Keroro squealed and just barely managed to dodge the razor sharp shard of steel that resided on it "where is his body?!"

"Dad! I'm right here!"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT AGAIN!"

Keroro screamed as his mother rushed at him, hammer and all. He started to run away but for an unknown reason, she was so very quicker.

Before he knew it, he was on the ground, his mom towering over him with her foot on his chest, pinning him down with an unknown strength.

"No! Mom! Get off of me!"

His father came into view over his mothers shoulder "tell us where you've hidden his body!"

"I'm not dead!"

Keroro sucked in a breath as the spear was suddenly thrust foreword so its point was just barely scratching his nose. He could feel a bead of blood beginning to form and slowly running down his face.

"We'll torture it out of you if we have to!" His mother hissed, glaring down at him.

"Wh-why won't you believe me?! I don't get it! I'm your son damnit!"

"Our son couldn't have gotten here so fast! He's light years away! Your an imposter!"

Keroro blinked "that's why? They really think I'm dead?"

"That plot of yours actually worked, didn't it?!" His dad yelled "he really almost destroyed their planet, right?! Is this why the revolution is happening?! Is it?!"

"H-how do you know about the revolution!?" Keroro's eyes went wide "a-and... The plot? Y-you mean to tell me that you knew about the fake invasion?!"

"SEE?! KERORO WOULDN'T KNOW THAT!" His mom screeched and raised the hammer over her head.

"NO! MOM! WAIT! THE-"

he didn't have time to finish his sentance, and he sure as hell couldn't continue after his mother lifted the hammer back up.

Keroro's scream filled the air as pain pulses throughout his body. He couldn't even look at the mangled and broken arm that his mother had left behind. He wanted to die right there and then, for the pain was so great.

"Where is his body?!" His mother screamed as the blood began flowing quickly, turning the wooden floors beneath Keroro red and sticky.

Keroro cried and screamed, his agony blocking out his ability to speak.

His father and mother were unfazed, and his father suddenly drove the killer spear into Keroro's un mangled arm, making him scream even louder.

"WHERE IS HE?! GIVE US A CHANCE TO BURY HIM!"

shock was consuming Keroro now, his eyes rolling back into his head as everything began to grow blurry.

"I... I..."

He couldn't speak, the pain distracted him to much.

His mom snarled and got ready to swung the behemoth hammer once more.

"Final chance! WHERE IS HE?!"

Keroro couldn't look at them, he could only glance upward at the ceiling.

"I-I... I..." He began to force the words out, his mind growing hazy.

"I-I'm... Y...y-your... S-son..."

_BAM!_


	111. Immortal

Dororo gasped as his eyes flew open, the pain in his chest gone, along with the warmth of his blood beneath him.

"What the hell? A... Dream...?" He rubbed his head.

"No... I'm sorry..."

Dororo blinked and looked around, he was in a place similar to the freshly cleansed Void, yet he was all alone.

"I... What?!"

"Just relax..."

Dororo blinked as a tiny spark of purple light suddenly appeared before him.

"D-Dark?"

Dark looked sad, his head hanging "I'm... I'm really sorry..."

"I-I don't... Wait..."

His eyes widened and he clutched his chest "I'm... I'm dead... My mother... Why... Why would she..."

His eyes widened even more "w-wait... No... That's... No!"

He jumped up and grabbed his head "that... That was her diary! HERS! Oh god... Oh god no!"

Dark raised his head a bit "I-I would have told you... I'm sorry..."

"No! It's not true! How can there be two of the same diaries?!" Dororo pointed at Dark "I-I found the pages in the Void!"

"I... I cloned it... Back when I was evil I hoped you would recognize your mothers handwriting... And go crazy again..."

Dororo took a step back "a-all of those things... Those horrible things... My father did it all?"

"Y-yes..."

"A-and she was the one who killed him?! Oh god!" Dororo wailed "she killed me!"

"Erm... About that..."

Dororo blinked and looked at Dark "your... Not really dead..."

"Wh-what?"

"If you were dead... My mommy would have taken you to heaven by now..."

"Th...then where...?"

"You're in a place I like to call a communication plain.."

"Eh?"

"You... You can't go to heaven... Mommy forbids it... My brother and your souls are combined now, and now its so strong that if you go to heaven, it will start to fall apart... It can't contain such energy alongside Mommy's... So you have to wait for your soul to deteriorate enough so it won't break heaven..."

"Wh-what?!"

"You... Your basically immortal.. Until the oldest one in your platoon turns 100, then he will forcefully die of age and my siblings will leave you for new hosts..."

"I... I..." Dororo was absolutely shocked.

"Here is where you and Babti can communicate face to face... He's not here because i'm taking up his space... But the reason your not coming back to life right now is because this is your first death... Bapti is taking a scan of you as you heal, so he knows how to... Make you a new body..."

"e-excuse me?"

"The next time you die, instead of healing, Bapti's will take one of your most intact strand of DNA and regrow you another body... Then transport you over to it... Your age stays the same tho... It all happens in less then 000000000000.3 seconds.

Dororo stared at Dark "h-holy..."

"B-but... Your mother is at a very weak point... Her sanity is about to crumble..." Dark looked down "when she sees that she failed to send you to happiness and enlightenment... She'll collapse and go crazy..."

Dororo froze "th-that can't happen! I wouldn't let it!"

"Then... Be careful..." Dark began to fade away.

Dororo suddenly blinked "w-wait... If that was my Mother's diary all along... Then..."

"Goodbye..." Dark whispered as he became nearly invisible.

"W-wait! Hold on! W-who's my real fa-"

he was cut off by a blast of energy that completely shocked him, he screamed as his world vanished, and reappeared in the form of a bloody wood floor.

He sat up, panting, his head and stomach spinning like crazy. he clutched hus chest and looked over to see his mother standing beside a dresser, pulling jewelry out and destroying it, diamond beads fell to the floor as she ripped several necklaces apart.

She froze as Dororo made to much noise and turned around.

her eyes went wide and she began to scream, her entire body begining to shake violently as her hands frantically grabbed for the knife that lay on the dresser.

Dororo gasped and leaped up off the floor and tackled his mother, the knife never even touching her fingers as they both fell.

"NO! NO! NO!" His mother practically screamed, hitting Dororo in the face and shoulders with her flailing arms "please! Mother! Stop!"

"NONONONONONONONONOOOOO!" She continued to holler and kicked at Dororo, tears rolling down her face like rain in the tropics.

Dororo could only hold her close and let her abuse his healed body, screaming and shrieking like an injured animal.

The worst part was that was actually what she now was...

...

The brown Keronian froze, his entire body still and his eyes wide with shock as he looked past his shotgun to see what he had aimed for.

Kururu stood still, completely unharmed, but the bullet was now just hovering in the air, an inch away from Kururus head.

Kururu turned to look at it, then looked at the brown Keronian "you know... I was going to leave you alive... I was going to let you decide your own fate..."

He began to growl "but now that I'm thinking about it... I don't think I should..."

the brown Keroronian dropped the shotgun and backed away "wh-what the fuck are you?" He sputtered "y-your not Keronian anymore!"

Kururu eyed the bullet once more, and slowly, it began to rotate. In about five seconds it was facing the direction from which it came.

"Kukukuuu... Nope..." He raised his hand up in front of his face.

"I'm a mother fucking monkey... Kuku!"

With a simple snap of his fingers, the bullet was no longer in front of his face.

Kururu ignored the screams of pain and let the bullet come round and pass through flesh once more.

Over and over again it continued to rip through its target, then come back like a boomerang and repeat the process.

Kururu watched silently, nether happy nor angry anymore, he felt satisfied and collected now, something he had not felt for a long, long time.

he stilled as he felt a foreign hands fingers intertwine with his own, and he closed his eyes as he knew that there was nothing there.

"They must have cremated you... Dumped your ashes into the ocean... Yet your still here..."

He wanted to do what all children did at least once in their life and bury his face into her chest, yet that was impossible.

As the screams died down, so did the feeling of that ghostly hand. He clenched his fist in desperation to feel it right before it vanished completely, but it was long gone by the time he realized that the brown Keronian was dead.

He turned and walked away, his head held high and his hands trembling.

"I was able to calm one of your angers..." He thought "Yet there's still someone out there with a gun..."

"And I swear on my life that he will pay..."

...

Giroro jerked a bit and opened his eyes to see a red floor "w...wait... What?"

"You didn't have to shoot him!"

Giroro stiffened as he heard his fathers wail from behind him, his sobs clearly not being hidden well.

"This is YOUR fault!" Garuru yelled "YOU did this! I can't believe that you would lie to our faces like this!"

"H-he was innocent! He was your brother!"

"Sacrifices must be made for the greater good!"

Giroro's eyes widened.

"No matter how important they are!"

Garuru reloaded his gun "your not my father anymore... I don't care about you... You can DIE!"

Just like that, he snapped.

Giroro roared and lashed upward, jumping to his feet as his fingers wrapped around Garuru's wrist.

Garuru gasped and gripped his at his arm with his free hand, his face twisted with pain.

Giroro couldn't even hear his father, all of his attention was on Garuru.

The gun fell from Garuru's now limp fingers and hit the ground with a clatter.

Giroro stared into his brother's eyes, which were filled with confusion and horror.

"Your the real monster... Accusing people just like that!? Calling for execution all because of a book?!"

He shoved Garuru away and grabbed the gun off the floor. At first he wanted to shoot him, but thought otherwise.

"Let him run..."

Giroro unloaded the gun and tossed the canister away, he could see Garuru debating his next move, still holding onto his wrist.

He saw the flicker of determination in his eyes, as he attempted to go for the gun, yet Giroro clenched his fist around it before he could move an entire inch.

He could feel his hand heating up along with the gun, but there was no burning sensation as the now molten metal oozed out from in between his fingers, sizzling as the red hot drops struck the icy cold cellar ground.

Garuru backed away, his eyes wide "wh-what..."

"Get out..." Giroro growled, his eyes beginning to glow like a fire "even after all you have done, I cannot kill you... You are my brother and I love you... But..." Giroro narrowed his eyes "I sure as hell won't stop anyone else from trying... Now get your ass out and stay out!"

Garuru stayed still, his eyes still wide with shock.

"LEAVE!" Giroro roared, a burning fire suddenly engulfing his hands, and something was wrong with his teeth. In just a second, they were much sharper and longer then usual.

Something came out of his head, and something else came out of his backside. He had no idea what he now looked like, but he knew what was going on.

"Run back to your fellow killers! Go ahead and plot against us! We'll stop you again and again! This is the revolution damn it!"

Garuru flinched and raced away, Giroro could smell the fear coming off him as he scurried up the ladder with one arm dangling loosely at his side.

He heard him racing through the house above, and he heard him no more as he exited the house.

Giroro blinked as he realized that he was panting. He looked back at his father to see giving him a strange look, it was happiness, horror, sadness, and confusion all rolled into one.

He suddenly started to cry, clutching the book to his chest as his tears fell.

"Oh, Moki, why must you be both kind and cruel to us?!"

...

Keroro blinked open his eyes "ngh... Wh-wha?"

"Where do you think he is?"

"the temple can find him... We need a ship..."

"What about the others?"

"We need to find and take as many as we can with us..."

"Oh dear Moki... Please let him be alive..."

Keroro's heart skipped a beat.

"What? Did my mom just say... MOKI?!"

He bolted upright, which was a horrible decision since his parents were right there.

They stared at each other for the longest time, mouths wide open and eyes nearly popping out of eye sockets.

"Uh..." Keroro jumped up, feeling oddly refreshed "h-how do you know about Moki?!"

They froze "wh-what?" He dad sputtered.

"Y-you said Moki! You said her name! It sounded like you knew about her!"

He felt the ground tip underneath his feet "you... Your... Seers?"

That was a possibility that Keroro would have never have guessed.

Keroro pointed at himself "yet... I'm... Or... I was... born defaulted?"

They backed away "no... Your not... You couldn't know... Your defiantly not our son!"

"Damn it all I AM! The reason I got here so fast was because Dark teleported us here after we appeased him and he told us what's going on!"

They stilled "what?!" His dad yelled "you... That... Dark?! Appeased?! No!"

"You ARE Seers! Holy shit!" Keroro grabbed at his head "a-and... And... You killed me! Oh god I'm a zombie! Wait... No... My arm... What the actual fuck?!"

He checked himself over "I-I... I'm fine... What... I don't..." He shook his head "f-forget it... But..." He pointed at his parents "wh-why did you come here?! The military would have killed you if they found you!"

He winced as he saw emotion flood his parent's eyes "we came here to raise our son!" His dad cried "stop pretending that you're him! There's no way that Keroro would know about this!"

"The Void had been destroyed! Everyone has been freed!" Keroro threw his arms out "My and my platoon gave back Moki's confidence and that's what sparked the revolution!"

"Your lying! It couldn't have been you! Our son wouldn't be selfless enough to do that!"

"I changed! Mom, I saw things in there that you would never believe!"

"This is nothing but a lie!"

"MOM!" Keroro stomped his foot "wh-why don't you get it?! I'm not lying! Damn it all I've got Bien and Cyclol and a parrot and everything!"

they both froze yet again "h...how did you find out their names?! Who told you that?!"

"The freaking gods themselves! They joined together so they had the same number of gods as hosts but they needed another spirit with a weak spiritual energy and strong body so they chose the scarlet macaw! I'm a parrot now!"

He blinked rapidly as the words flew out almost instintivly "a-and I can prove it! Uh... Uh..."

He looked around "y-you gotta pot of flowers around here or something?"

They continued to stare as he fumbled around "uh... Erm..." Keroro started peeking behind furniture "a bit of mold? F-fungus? Anything? Damn, why is your house so clean?!"

He cussed and started turning over shit "wh-why don't you have any plants in here?! And there's terrible wind current in here!"

He spun around, snapping his fingers "oh! Bread! You got bread? Veggies? Grass fattened non processed meat?"

They just stared at him, eyes wide "are... Are you crazy?" His dad whispered.

"No! I'm just on a mission for veggies!" Keroro opened the refrigerator in the kitchen "wh-why don't you have any?! Jesus, and you nagged me to eat healthy on a daily baises! What the fuck is this?!"

Keroro started tossing out highly processed food specialty made with high protein "look at all of this shit! How are you even still alive?!"

He yanked out a nearly plastic block of cheese "WHAT THE FUCK?! Ok _THIS_ right here makes me mad!"

He turned it over so see specks of blue mold covering the underside "oh god! This expired a year ago! In fact, most of this shit did! What the fuck are you doing to yourselves... Oh wait... Mold..."

Keroro lost interest in the topic that had previously enraged him and threw the cheese onto the floor, it made an unnatural squishing sound, then bounced against the wooden floors of his parent's house.

"Ok! GROW!" He flicked his hands out.

Nothing happened.

"GROW!"

Nada

"CHRIST ALMIGHTY JUST FUCKING GROW ALREADY!"

_"Ahem... That's not how it works..." _

Keroro blinked as he heard Cybie's voice.

_"You need to focus and relax... Imagine it growing and gently willing it to do just as you imagine whilst transferring a very tiny bit of your energy to it" _

"really? So... It's like mind control?"

"Wh-who are you talking to?"

Keroro looked at his mother "Cybie" he said quickly and looked back at the sad looking piece of cheese.

"Alright..." He focused on it "please, oh pretty please just grow... Eat all of that unwanted and undesired cheese so my parent's can know that I'm not lying... And so I can ask them why the fuck they had a giant ass hammer and spear just laying around..."

He suddenly heard his parents gasp, and he blinked to see the entire freaking solid block of cheese turn completely blue, then slowly begin to shrink until only a heap of mold was left.

Keroro spun around to look at his parents "See?! I'm not made of bullshit! I DID in fact come out of your vagina!" He pointed at his mom "and why I'm saying such inappropriate things I will never know!"

He put his hands onto his knees "w-whew! Holy fuck that took way more effort then it needed to..."

He leaned back and let out a long breath "dear lord..."

He blinked as he heard a wet sob coming from his mother. He looked at her to see her clinging to his father, who was frozen to the spot.

"Y...you... You really are..." He started to cry as well, wrapping his arms around his wife "o-oh god... Oh god no..."

Keroro stiffened "wh-what? Why are you crying? Isn't this... Good?"

His mom looked up, her eyes red and her tears continuing to fall.

"N-no..." She whispered in between her sobs.

"Y-you've ruined your life..."


	112. Father

It took almost an hour for Dororo's mother to stop hitting, and twice as long for her to stop screaming.

Another hour for Dororo to drag her outside, and yet another hour before she fell completely silent.

Dororo sat beside his mother on the abandoned sidewalk of his old neighborhood, holding both of her hands tightly within his own.

His mother looked defeated, her eyes lidded and stuck to the ground in between her legs.

Tears continued to fall, but no sobs accompanied them. There was only her ragged breathing and the whistling wind from above.

Dororo sat there, his mind whirling and his heart slowly shattering.

"All of those things... They happened right in front of me... Yet I didn't see..."

He looked at his mother's dull eyes, then looked away.

He had to ask... He had to know...

"M-mo...mother?"

She gave no reaction to his attempt to communicate.

"W...who..."

He stopped for a long shakeup breath, tears falling from his own eyes.

"W-who... Who is m-my real father?"

...

She glanced at him, her hazy eyes suddenly flooding with emotion and pain, and stayed that way as she looked away.

Dororo hesitated, was this making her condition worse?

"m...mother?"

She stayed quiet.

Dororo looked down "I-I'm so sorry... Please... I need to know..."

She didn't respond.

Dororo couldn't hold back anymore and broke down into tears.

"My whole life... A lie!" He covered his eyes "now it makes so much sense! My mothers constant habit of falling down the stairs, my fathers constant persuading for me to continue the family business, my younger brothers absence... Oh god... He's DEAD! My brother is DEAD!"

He stood up and stumbled away, leaving his mother on the sidewalk "I could have stopped it! I could have at least NOTICED! But NO!"

He fell to his knees in the middle if the street and wailed aloud his newfound misery.

"I let her suffer! She's insane now becuase I didn't see and report my father! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!"

He continued to sob, glancing back to see his mother several yards away, not looking at him and still sitting on the sidewalk.

"She blames me... And she should..."

He wanted to curl up and disappear into the pavement beneath him, but he couldn't...

He continued to cry, unable to control his sobs as it went on and on.

But then, something happened...

a new scent had struck his nose.

Dororo froze, his eyes going wide.

"Why... Why does this smell... So familiar?"

He slowly got up off the pavement, and looked down the street. Someone was walking toward him, someone that brought painful memories back to Dororo. It felt like he had been knifed in the gut, the emotional pain unbearable, along with his confusion...

"No... That can't be... He's... Dead!"

The newcomer walked up to him, his scent becoming so strong that it made Dororo wrinkle up his nose.

"I... Killed him..."

...

"you've gotten weirder" Jirara commented.

...

Dororo wanted to scream, run, fight, and cry some more all at once.

"Y-you're dead" he finally managed to sputter.

"you're oblivious"

Dororo shook his head "no... I... I killed..."

"You simply wounded me... Nothing major..."

"But..."

"Do you seriously think that me turning into pixie dust symbolizes death?"

Dororo winced "I-I..."

"Do you really think its ok to leave your mother alone while she's having a mental break down?"

Dororo stiffened and looked back at his mother to see that she was still sitting there, oblivious to Jirara's sudden appearance.

"You need to take shelter..."

"W-we need to leave Keron..." Dororo whispered.

"No, I mean, now"

"what are you talking about?"

"The military is coming... With guns for days..." Jirara looked up "a foot solider is very, very close"

"wh-why warn me? I thought yo-"

"...hated you?" Jirara finished "I only came to you so I could fake my own death"

"to escape the military and prison?"

"I only came back when I heard about the revolution"

"w-wait... How did you-"

Jirara spun around suddenly, his eyes narrowed "damnit..."

"Wh-what? What wro-"

thats when he smelled the gun.

Nothing but the irony stench of gunpowder and iron filled his nose, making him gag.

He spun around to see his mother still sitting there, yet someone was walking toward her.

How he had not sensed him before was unknown to Dororo, but he saw the evil in that soilder's eyes.

He also saw the source if that horrid stench. A military rifle was aimed right at his mother, loaded and ready to fire.

No one can stop a bullet from hitting a target that was only two feet away from the gun... Not even the most skilled assassin.

Definantly not Dororo.

Yet he still started to run, a yell escaping his lips.

In only a second after the gun had fired, Dororo was upon the shooter. His fingers wrapped around his neck, and to his own suprise, was breaking it.

He didn't even know why his hands had flashed out to litterially crush the attackers throat.

But he did know that the gun had indeed fired.

He whipped around and expected to see his mother laying dead on the pavement behind him, instead, something was very different.

Instead, his mother was unharmed and staring down at a purple body that rested at her feet.

Diroro stared in horror at Jirara, who was still alive yet bleeding badly from the chest, struggled to roll himself onto his back, his breath horse and ragged.

It took Dororo's mother 30 solid seconds to start screaming.

she fell to his side, and grabbed him, holding him close and continuing to scream.

Dororo was shocked beyond belief "he... He managed to jump in front of it?"

Jirara coughed and sputtered, Dororo's mother's cries turning into large, ugly sobs that made her entire body quake.

"Why... Why is she getting so worked up?" Dororo crouched beside Jirara "oh god... Right next to the heart... He's going to die..."

"no! No! Not now! Please no!" His mother screamed, clinging to Jirara tightly.

Jirara looked up at her, blood oozing out from behind his mask "I... I'm sorry..." He sputtered.

"Don't leave me! Please don't leave me!"

Dororo blinked "did she know him?"

Jirara coughed again "it's... Not my choice..."

"No! Nonononono!" His mother started shaking him "don't die! DON'T DIE!"

Dororo stared at his old mentor as he lay there, bleeding and vulrnuable.

"What's going on?"

Jirara looked at him weakly, his three eyes narrowing to slits "y...you were such a pathetic little kid..."

Dororo blinked as he went on "yet... You climbed to the top faster then... Then anyone ever did..." He jerked a bit, clearly getting weaker.

"I-I knew f-from the start... That you were... Her's..." He looked back at his mother, who had ceased her screaming but continued to cry.

"Everything... From your timid nature... To your physical body... You had every... Little... Bit..."

"Please... Save your strength..." Dororo held his hand.

"Oh... I'm already old... My time was close enough anyway..." Jirara looked up at Dororo again.

"B-but... Not once did I ever imagine... That my star pupal... Would ever become one of the greatest saviors... That this universe has ever seen..."

Dororo blinked "w-what?"

"I... I see... I see it..." A chuckle ran up Jirara's throat "your eyes reflect... N-nothing but the... The peaceful ocean and the icy winter... The blue moon... Th...the grey wolf..."

Dororo froze.

"You...you're a... A Seer?"

Jirara closed his eyes "oh... And you wondered why else I would have wanted to hide..."

Dororo could only stare as he sighed "y...your... Assumed father... Was an ass... Selfish... Greedy... His ego could stop universal hunger..."

He reopened his three eyes and looked up at Dororo's mother.

"He... He had in his possession... Something... So beautiful..."

In the blink of an eye, his sharp metal claw gloves were gone, revealing tough and dark battle scarred fingers that slowly raised up and brushed one of the many tears that ran down Dororo's mothers face.

"He... He abused it... The bastard... I would... Have killed him myself..." Jirara cupped Dororo's mother's cheek with his hand. She cried harder and gripped it tightly.

"But... He's gone... That's exactly what I needed..." Jirara whispered.

"Now... All that I wish for... Is you to continue living... The life you've had did nothing but tortue you... But... Now you're free... I want... You too... Claim what... You were deprived of... For all your life... Be strong..."

He closed his eyes again.

"For me..."

Dororo's eyes widened as he continued.

"...becuase... I love you to much... I couldn't bare seeing you die unhappy..."

"No... Please don't leave me..." His mother whimpered, her forehead colliding with Jirara's.

"I'm... Not..." Jirara choked out, his fingers going limp.

"J-just... Live... For... Me..."

And just like that, he was gone.

Dororo's mother screamed at the sky, frantically grabbing at Jirara's now unmoving body. Her wail of grief not fazing Dororo in the slightest as his eyes locked onto Jirara's lifeless face.

"Jirara... The one I've come to respect and fear... The one that turned me into a killer... The one that even the mention if his name sent shivers down my spine, the one that threatened me and my friends lives..."

"...selfless?..."

"...A seer?..."

_"My father?"_


	113. To be continued

Giroro watched silently as his father slowly ascended up the ladder. They had sat in the cellar for what felt like hours without saying a word.

"Garuru almost killed him... But... He shot me..." Giroro examined his chest for about the 70th time "I... I died... But... I... I'm still here..."

He climbed up after his father, wincing as he reached to top to see his father by a cabinet, grabbing a large flask of alcohol.

"D-dad... Don't start dri-"

he was interrupted as his father opened it and hurled it across the room. Alcohol splattered as it struck the ground, creating a large wet spot.

"D...dad?"

he ignored Giroro and grabbed a bunch of beer cans out if the fridge, and began to open them and dump the contents of them over everything.

"Wh-what are you..." Giroro stepped forward to stop him.

His dad pushed him away, his eyes narrowed "this isn't real... This house... This furniture... All a set up... All a distraction!"

He thrust the large book he still had into Giroro's arms "this is the only thing I kept... The ONLY thing... All of this is meaningless!"

"B-but..."

Giroro's father stepped away and began to dig around in another cabinet "I'm leaving... I'm going HOME... I'm never coming back to this prison... Never!" He pulled out a large bottle of lighter fluid and started to spray it all over the walls "let it burn! I don't give a shit and neither should you!"

Giroro backed out the door as his father continued to douse the inside of the house with whatever flammable substance he could find. And when he finally did come out, he brought with him a large tank of gasoline and started to dump it all over the outside of the house.

"Kukukuuu... He seems pissed..."

Giroro blinked and turned to see Kururu walking up to him "k-Kururu... Did you manage to find your family?"

"Yes..." Kururu's glasses flickered a tiny bit, an unknown emotion clearly stirring within him.

Giroro looked back at his father to see him whipping out a box of matches.

"He has the right idea..." Kururu eyed the book in Giroro's hands.

Giroro sighed "I... I can't believe it... Garuru..."

"...he had his reasons..." Kururu looked down.

"He threatened my father... And he shot me..."

Kururu looked at him "you're not wounded..."

"I... I died... But... I came back!" Giroro shuddered "I don't understand... What happened?"

"Ku... My inner monkey is telling me that someone in our platoon had the answers..."

"Who?"

"I-"

"Giroro! Kururu!"

Giroro blinked again and looked over to see Tamama running out from the neighboring backyard "I-I can't get into the city... It's completely locked up!"

"Well... Shit..." Giroro muttered.

Tamama blinked "is... Is your dad trying to burn your house down?"

"Yes..." Giroro lowered his head to look at the book.

"he's feeling some major love..."

"What?" Giroro looked at Tamama.

"He's suffering... But at the same time he's in love... It at least, remembering a love..." Tamama shrugged "that's what I see..."

Giroro looked back at his father, who was failing to light a match.

"Do you know where sarge's old house is? I need to go see him..." Tamama piped up.

"Ku... No need... He's coming this way"

Giroro blinked "eh?"

_FOOOOOSH! _

Giroro gasped as the house suddenly burst into flames, his father walking away and not looking back at it at all.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

Giroro looked over to see Keroro and his parents hurrying over "why the hell is your house on fire?!"

"I did it" Giroro's dad hissed.

Keroro's dad stared at the flames, then eyed the book in Giroro's arms "y...you kept that?!"

"I wasn't going to leave it..."

"wow... There goes several evil space cockroaches..." Keroro muttered.

"nonsense... Cockroaches of any kind can't die" Keroro's mother shielded her eyes from the raging fire.

Suddenly Tamama stiffened "w-wait..." He looked into the distance his eyes wide.

"Wh-what?" Keroro came to his side.

Tamama clutched his chest "oh... Oh my god..."

Before anyone could ask, a scream suddenly broke through the sound of the flames. Giroro flinched away from it "wh-what the..."

Tamama suddenly started sprinting, Keroro gasped and followed "w-wait!"

Keroro didn't wait for anyone else as he struggled to keep up with his boyfriend "t-Tamama!"

Tamama was barrled down another street, heading right for the upper class of town.

Keroro mentally groaned as his legs began to ache "And Dororo walked all this way to play with us?! Jezz..."

Tamama suddenly skidded to a halt right by an intersecton, looking down another street. He covered his mouth and looked at Keroro as he caught up.

"Wh-what the heck was that fo-" Keroro was suddenly cut off by another scream, this one much, much closer.

Keroro looked down the street and gasped to see four Keronians. One was on the ground and being ignored, most likely dead, and the two were light blue and huddled around a darker Keronian.

Keroro winced to see blood leaking out of its chest, he couldn't reconise him, yet the female of the two blue ones leaned in closer, then, after a single minute, began to scream again.

"That's Dororo and his mom!" Keroro started to run over, but Tamama grabbed him and held him back "w-wait!"

"What?!"

Tamama stared intently at them, his eyes wide "we can't interrupt this..."

"Uh... That guy looks like he's dying!"

"From the look in their faces, I think we're already to late..."

Keroro shuddered as Dororo himself leaned in, then went completely still, while his mom reared back and let out yet another high pitched wail, louder then before.

"She's grieving..." Tamama whispered and slowly started to walk over.

Keroro slowly followed, hearing everyone else catching up. But their gentle approach was ruined as Keroro's own mother suddenly gasped and barrled past Keroro and Tamama, leaping over the already dead Keronian and skidding to a halt beside them, nearly crashing into Dororo, who for some reason, didn't react in the slightest.

She crouched down and examined the presumed dead Keronian, then lowered her head and clasped her hands together.

It looked like a prayer of some kind, and Keroro realized that the only reason she would pray was if he was dead.

Giroro's and Keroro's fathers both sputtered and rushed over, and upon arrival, they did the same thing.

Kururu went to Keroro's side as Giroro went to get a better look "humph... And we thought he was dead..."

Keroro blinked "what?"

"Agh!"

Keroro looked up as Giroro sprang away from the body, then rushed over and tried to drag his father away "get back! He's dangerous!"

"Giroro... Stop it..." his father huffed and pushed him away.

"he's faking it! He tried to kill us before and now he came to finish the job!"

Keroro's eyes widened as Dororo silently stood up and walked over to Giroro, then delivered a loud sounding slap to the red demons face.

Everyone gasped except Dororo's mother.

Giroro held his now stinging cheek and backed away as Dororo leaned in.

"He's dead... He came to me so he could fake his death so the military would stop looking, he never ment to harm you, Keroro, Fuyuki, or anybody else..."

He narrowed his eyes.

"I've just learned that my entire life is a damn lie, I learned that my mother was tortured and forced to have kids, the father you thought I had murdered my little brother, and my REAL father just died in front of me..."

Everyone froze and looked at him, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

"...so... I would appreciate it... If you just shut you're mouth and let us grieve..."

He turned away and went back to sit by the now dead Keronian. Shock and silence filling the air.

Keroro slipped over and looked at the body, freezing as he reconised the dull, lifeless trio of eyes that stared back at him.

"I reconise him... He's a felon... The military was after him... He attacked me and Fuyuki..."

He shuddered and backed away, then turned to look at Tamama.

He was silent, his eyes full of emotion. He gently pulled Keroro off to the side "I never met him... But... The pain coming off of his mom..." He squeezed his eyes shut "she's suffering..."

Kururu suddenly stepped out and went to Dororo's side "ku... It's a miracle he survived as long as he did..."

Dororo let out a low groan and leaned over his body "H-He was with me... Through all of my training... Never once did I think that-"

"oh shut up, Dog-breath"

Dororo stiffened, and everyone else turned to look at Kururu.

"Jirara was a better assassin then you ever were, he wanted your true origins to stay secret, and that's exactly what he strived to do. If you had noticed even the slightest similarities between you and him, the military would have as well, and you would have been dragged away in the middle of the night and tortured in a science lab"

Kururu leaned in "if that had happened, we wouldn't be standing here while zombies take revenge on their greedy murderers, people would continue to suffer for all eternity in the Void, and your mother wouldn't have been released from her pain filled routine... Your father made all of this happen, he threw away his very personality to keep you and your mother alive. He wasn't asked, it was his choice, so don't you go blaming yourself for not noticing damn it!"

Dororo stared up at him, shocked. He then looked back down at the body before him.

Giroro, who still looked guilty for his rude interruption, went over and sat next to him, his hand falling to touch Dororo's shoulder.

"I-I'm... So sorry..." He murmured.

Dororo covered his eyes and let out a long, high pitched whine. His voice breaking halfway through it, yet he didn't stop and it continued on and on.

Keroro felt like his stomach had been turned to stone "oh my god... All of these secrets... Coming to light..."

He looked over to Tamama and blinked to see him walking towards an empty lot.

He hurried after him "h-hey... Where are you-"

he stopped as he came to walk beside him and saw his eyes. Wide and full of suprise. Keroro looked over and saw a tall, skinny tree in the empty lot, it looked ugly and dead, yet Tamama seemed so distracted by it that Keroro's words had no impact on him.

Tamama slowly walked up to it, his eyes scrunching up and tears beginning to fall. Keroro blinked and walked to his side to see what he was looking at.

On the ground next to the tree was a tiny hole in the ground. Ants were coming and going from it, invading the dead, barren lot they now stood in.

Keroro knelt down to look at it closer "ants? On Keron? Why would there be an insect that's only found on Pekopon be here?"

He blinked again as something red appeared from the hole. It moved in sync with the others yet it was much smaller, and it stood out amongst the sea of black like blood among tar.

"That's strange... Why would a fire ant live with a different kind of ant?"

Tamama suddenly let out a sob, and Keroro turned to see him stumbling away, his eyes watering.

Keroro jumped up and went after him "hey... Are you alright?"

Tamama sniffed and rubbed his nose "n-no... No I'm not..." He looked at Keroro, his eyes full of pain "I-I walked by this lot every day... M-my test took place here... I... I watched it burn..."

"T-Tamama... I'm sorry that you had to see that..." Keroro held him in for a comforting hug.

Tamama covered his eyes "b-but... They... They told me..."

"Hm? They? Who's they? And what did they tell you?"

"I-I was all alone..." Tamama whimpered, clinging to Keroro "m...my parents... The land lord said that they were... We're... Terrorists..."

Keroro stiffened "what?"

"They had guns... Bombs... So they went in and..." Tamama broke down into tears "I-I don't even remember! They took me away as the house burned down and left me in the arms of a crappy orphanage! They said that the house burned so badly that nothing was left! They said no one wanted to buy it!"

Tamama pulled away from Keroro and waved his hands at the lot around him "they said that THIS is where it once stood!"

Keroro froze, his mind whirling "w...what?"

"I heard their screams! Their body bags! I saw myself get taken out, checked, and taken away!" Tamama wailed "they weren't terrorists! It was a lie! My parents were murdered because they were Seers!"

He held his head, sobbing loudly "and I grew up thinking they were evil! I HATED them!"

Keroro hesitated before going back to his side "T-Tamama... I..."

"Hey, you two!"

Keroro looked up to see Giroro's father looking their way "get over here"

Keroro wanted to say something like 'in a minute' or 'give us a second' but Tamama suddenly broke away and started over to him, still crying.

Keroro hurried after him, his heart aching even more as he saw his own father picking up Jirara's limp and lifeless body.

"We're leaving" Giroro's father announced.

"To where?" Giroro looked up.

His father fell silent for a few seconds before answering "to Earth"

"huh? What?" Keroro tilted his head to the side "do you mean Pekopon?"

"No... EARTH" Keroro's mother hissed and took the book from Giroro since he still held it.

"I don-"

"Earth is what we call it" Keroro's father mumbled "now that we're going back, we're going to continue calling it that"

Dororo's mother stood up on shaky legs, clinging to Jirara's limp hand.

Dororo was already standing, his entire body shaking.

"Ok... How will we get to... Earth..." Giroro looked at his father.

"The shopping mall in town has been deserted..." Keroro's father looked at Giroro "they have delivery trucks..."

"Are you sure?"

"I had just got back from checking when you showed up" Keroro's father looked at Keroro "we're the only ones here... So no one could have taken it..."

Keroro looked over at the smoke that continued to rise up from the city in the distance "What about them? The military?"

"Oh, let them make their own choices... " his mother suddenly growled "the Seers are a peaceful people... But when it comes to defense, nothing can penetrate their walls..."

"We need a box of some kind..." Giroro's father looked at Jirara.

"I'm sure there are crates in the mall..."

Dororo sniffed and placed a hand on Jirara's head "this shouldn't have happened..." He choked out.

Everyone murmured in agreement, then started to move along the street. Towards a somewhat large building with many windows. But Keroro stopped and looked back at his old neighborhood, the streets he walked as a child, the signs he had memorized.

"Cybie..." Keroro thought "what now?"

_"Now you go home..." _

"But... This IS my home..."

_"Yet you've come to love Earth more then anything" _

"I was born here..."

_"No... You were born in the temple. The safe and peaceful home of the Seers... Your parents took you here to raise you like a normal child as they realized that you were defaulted..." _

Keroro squeezed his eyes shut, then looked up and to the left to see a red flag blowing in the wind from behind another house. Keroro remembered sticking it into the ground as a child right near his and his friends base.

He sighed and turned his back and started to walk with everyone else... His lover, his friends, his family...

His life was ruined, the voices in his head began to grow annoying, his friends were beaten down by the truth, his dreams of invading now made him angry, his sexuality was unknown even to himself, his chances of a normal life were now in tatters... Everything had gone personally wrong while he did everything right for the innocents around him.

"There are more secrets... Isn't there?"

_"Oh yes..."_ Cybie chuckled softly.

_"You will bring some to light, some will stay hidden forever... Some will bring joy, some will bring pain... Some will lead to questions while some lead to answers... But ether way, you won't be alone... Your world has gotten so much bigger since that lazy day many hours ago, even if it feels like a life time..." _

_"...and my dear child, it has yet to grow even more..."_

**_...TO BE CONTINUED..._**


End file.
